In archaeological scholarship, the term Mannerists describes a large group of Attic

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 painters, stylistically linked by their affected painting style. The group comprised more than 15 artists. They preferred to paint

column krater A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, krat ...

s, ''

hydria The hydria ( el, ὑδρία; plural hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped o ...

i'' and ''

pelike A pelike ( grc, πελίκη) is a one-piece ceramic container similar to an amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characterist ...

s''. They were active from about 480 BC until near the end of the 5th century BC. In their artwork, the figures seem elongated and have small heads, the garment folds are falling stiff, resembling stairs, and the images are framed with red-figure style ornamentations, such as detailed furniture and drapery. The range of motifs is also influenced by previous periods. Thus,

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

and

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

playing a boardgame, a popular

black-figure Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are ...

motif introduced by

Exekias Exekias ( grc, Ἐξηκίας, ''Exēkías'') was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter who was active in Athens between roughly 545 BC and 530 BC. Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique, which involved the painting of scen ...

, are depicted often. The figures gesticulate as if using a form of sign language, especially the hands often appear stiff and theatrical.

Komos The Kōmos ( grc, κῶμος; pl. kōmoi) was a ritualistic drunken procession performed by revelers in ancient Greece, whose participants were known as komasts (κωμασταί, ''kōmastaí''). Its precise nature has been difficult to recon ...

and

symposion 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 especially popular. Influenced by other contemporary painters, the second generation of mannerists favoured domestic scenes. Occasionally, they also depicted rare motifs, such as the madness of

Salmoneus In Greek mythology, Salmoneus (; Ancient Greek: Σαλμωνεύς) was 'the wicked'Hesiod, '' Ehoiai'' fr. 4 as cited in Plutarch, ''Moralia'' p. 747; Scholia on Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 4.263 eponymous king and founder of Salmone in Pisatis. ...

, of which they produced the only known painting. The earliest representatives of the style worked in the workshop of the potter

Myson Myson of Chenae (; grc-gre, Μύσων ὁ Χηνεύς; fl. 6th-century BC), also called "of Chen", was, according to Plato, one of the Seven Sages of Greece. He is not to be confused with the Myson of 5th-century Athens who ran a pottery and ins ...

between 480 and 450 BC. The most important artist of the style at that time was the

Pan Painter The Pan Painter was an ancient Greek vase-painter of the Attic red-figure style, probably active c. 480 to 450 BC. John Beazley attributed over 150 vases to his hand in 1912: Archaic Mannerism Beazley identified the Pan Painter as a pupil ...

. Also significant were the Pig Painter, the Leningrad Painter and the Agrigento Painter. The middle phase, between about 450 and 425 BC, is dominated by the Nausikaa-Hephaistos Group, comprising seven artists. Its leading and eponymous artists were the Nausikaa Painter and the Hephaistos Painter. The last important artists of the style, near the end of the 5th century, are the Academy Painter and the Painter of Athens 1183.

Bibliography

* John H. Oakley: ''Manieristen'', in '' Der Neue Pauly Vol. 7 (1999), Col. 816 {{Authority control Ancient Greek vase-painting styles Artists of ancient Attica 5th-century BC Greek art