The Swing Painter was an Attic

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 ...

vase painter, active in the third quarter of the sixth century BC. His real name is unknown. His phase of activity was roughly concurrent with that of Group E. An unusually large number of vases is ascribed to him, probably partially because his style is more distinctive than those of many of his contemporaries. His works are dated to the time between 540 and 520 BC. He is not considered an outstanding artist, but his work is often involuntarily amusing. Especially the oversized heads of his rather peaceable figures with their clenched fists and striking noses seem rather comical to the modern eye. His style is cursory and seems careless, according to John Boardman. He used additional colours (beyond the standard black and red) to paint patterned clothing in a striking and original fashion. Detail Swing Painter Louvre F60

The artist used a broad repertoire of mythological subjects, including some rarely depicted scenes. His depiction of

Herakles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

and Busiris is unique in that form. He also painted scenes from everyday life, such as men on stilts and domestic motifs, including the depiction of a swing on 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 ...

. He also painted Panathenaic prize amphorae.

Bibliography

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 ...

: ''Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters'', Oxford 1956 * John Boardman: ''Schwarzfigurige Vasen aus Athen. Ein Handbuch'', Mainz 1977, , p. 71 * Elke Böhr: ''Der Schaukelmaler'', Mainz 1982 (Forschungen zur antiken Keramik Series II: Kerameus. Band 4 e {{Authority control Ancient Greek vase painters