The Baltimore Painter was an

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

n vase painter whose works date to the final quarter of the 4th century BC. He is considered the most important Late Apulian vase painter, and the last Apulian painter of importance. His conventional name is derived from a vase kept at the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. The Baltimore Painter's early work was strongly influenced by the Patera Painter. He mainly painted large format volute ''

krater A krater or crater (, ; , ) was a large two-handled type of vase in Pottery of ancient Greece, Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, kraters were placed in ...

s'',

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

e, '' loutrophoroi'' and ''

hydria The hydria (; : hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the Geometric art, 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 on a ...

i''. It is likely that his workshop was at Canosa. He depicted sepulchral scenes (''

naiskos The ''naiskos'' (: ''naiskoi''; , diminutive of ναός, "temple") is a small temple in classical order with columns or pillars and pediment. Ancient Greece Often applied as an artificial motif, it is common in ancient art. It is also found in ...

'' vases), usually depicting a ''naiskos'' on the front and a grave

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

on the back, often characterised by figures in yellow-orange garments),

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

and dionysiac scenes, as well as erotes, weddings and scenes from the life of women. Stylistically, especially in regard to vase shapes and pictorial themes, his work is very similar to that of the

Underworld Painter The Underworld Painter was an ancient Greek Apulian vase painter whose works date to the second half of the 4th century BC. Career The Underworld Painter is the successor of the Darius Painter, in whose workshop he began his career and where he ...

. The Baltimore Painter's work is characterised by rich and fine detail, especially in ornamentation. Several painters were closely associated with him, including the Stoke-on-Trent Painter, who was either a very close colleague or may in fact be identical with him, and the painters of the T.C.-Group. His successors include the probable heir of his workshop, the White-Sakkos Painter, other painters of the White-Sakkos Group, the Sansone Painter, the Stuttgart Group and the Kantharos Group.

Bibliography

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Arthur Dale Trendall Arthur Dale Trendall, (28 March 1909 – 13 November 1995) was a New Zealand art historian and classical archaeologist whose work on identifying the work of individual artists on Greek ceramic vessels at Apulia and other sites earned him i ...

. ''Rotfigurige Vasen aus Unteritalien und Sizilien. Ein Handbuch.'' Philipp von Zabern, Mainz, 1991 (Kulturgeschichte der Antiken Welt Bd. 47), esp. p. 115-118 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Painter 4th-century BC deaths Ancient Greek vase painters Anonymous artists of antiquity People from Apulia Year of birth unknown