Hetaera urinating into a skyphos at a Kylix by the Foundry Painter Antikensammlung Berlin

Name Kylix by the Foundry Painter Antikensammlung Berlin 2

The Foundry Painter (german: Erzgießerei-Maler) was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

red-figure Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure va ...

vase painter of the Late Archaic period. His real name is unknown; the conventional name is derived from his most famous work, the

Berlin Foundry Cup The Berlin Foundry Cup (german: Erzgießerei-Schale) is a red-figure ''kylix'' (drinking cup) from the early 5th century BC. It is the name vase of the Attic vase painter known conventionally as the Foundry Painter. Its most striking feature is ...

. Together with a number of other notable vase painters, such as the Briseis Painter or the Dokimasia Painter, the Foundry Painter was active in the workshop of one of the most important Late Archaic red-figure vase painters, the Brygos Painter. He was less productive than his master, but artistically nearly as talented. His style and subject range are very similar to those of the Brygos Painter, who seems to have had a strong influence on all his collaborators in those regards. Nonetheless, the Foundry Painter's style differs in certain details;

John Beazley Sir John Davidson Beazley, (; 13 September 1885 – 6 May 1970) was a British classical archaeologist and art historian, known for his classification of Attic vases by artistic style. He was Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the Un ...

judged his works as powerful, sometimes even crude. In contrast to his contemporaries, his figures seem heavier, their faces more schematic. His figures are well-observed, and sometimes depicted not without humour. Such figures as foolish lovers, rotund '' hetairai'' and confounded revellers occur. He also attempted to depict body hair and to stress musculature. Additionally, he was one of the very few Late Archaic vase painters to experiment with shading. Especially his

symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

scenes are closely connected with those of the Brygos Painter, although he adds his own characteristic perspective especially in details. Many of his mythical scenes can be described as original. Nonetheless, he is especially important because of his depictions of everyday life and of craft activity. For example, there is a vase by him that depicts a sculptor at work, watched by the goddess

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

, shown at Olive and Oil Museum in

Torgiano Torgiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 10 km southeast of Perugia. Torgiano borders the following municipalities: Bastia Umbra, Bettona, Deruta, Perugia. History Pro ...

.Concetta Masseria, ''L'aristeia del Banausos: l'athlon di uno scudo per Atena'', Loffredo Editore, Naples, 2001 His most famous work is his

name vase In classical archaeology, a name vase is a specific "vase"In the study of ancient Greek pottery a "vase" is a general term covering all pottery shapes. whose painter's name is unknown but whose workshop style has been identified. The painter is co ...

, '' kylix'' in the Antikensammlung at

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, the so-called

. Its exterior depicts a bronze workshop; it is among the very few sources on ancient metal production. The Foundry Painter was active in the first third of the 5th century BC. He mainly painted drinking cups. Some of his works are in the white-ground technique.

Gallery

File:White ground alabastra by the Foundry painter Antikensammlung Berlin.jpg,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

and an athlete on a white-ground alabastron, from the school of the Foundry Painter, ''ca.'' 480 BC, found at

Tanagra Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The T ...

. Berlin, Antikensammlung. File:Foul pankration at Kylix by the Foundry Painter BM VaseE78.jpg,

Pankration Pankration (; el, παγκράτιον) was a sporting event introduced into the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC, which was an empty-hand submission sport with few rules. The athletes used boxing and wrestling techniques but also others, suc ...

wrestlers on a ''kylix'', ''ca.'' 480 BC.

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Bibliography

* John D. Beazley. ''Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963. * John Boardman. ''Rotfigurige Vasen aus Athen. Die archaische Zeit'', Philipp von Zabern, 4th edition, Mainz, 1994 (Kulturgeschichte der Antiken Welt, Vol 4), esp. p. 151,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foundry Painter 5th-century BC deaths Ancient Greek vase painters Anonymous artists of antiquity People from Attica Year of birth unknown