Eucharides Painter () is the common nickname of an ancient Greek artist who decorated but did not sign Attic vases. Neither his real name, nor the dates of his birth and death are known. Presumably this artist was a pupil of the Nikoxenos Painter. The name was introduced in 1911 by

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 U ...

, a classical historian at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, who had a special interest in Attic vases. Through close examination of stylistic details, Beazley and other scholars recognized pieces painted by the same artist. In this case, the nickname appreciates the anonymous painter's repeated use of

kalos inscription A ''kalos'' inscription is a form of epigraph found on Attic vases and graffiti in antiquity, mainly during the Classical period from 550 to 450 BC. The word ''kalos'' (), meaning 'handsome' or 'beautiful', was often accompanied by the name of ...

s praising the beauty of a named young boy. A vase with the inscription ΚΑΛΟΣ ΕΥΧΑΡΙΔΕΣ ("kalos Eucharides", i.e. Eucharides is beautiful) became the source of the artist's name. The Eucharides Painter was working in Athens in the years from about 500 BC to 470 BC. At this time the technique of vase painting switched from

black-figure Black-figure pottery painting (also known as black-figure style or black-figure ceramic; ) is one of the styles of Ancient Greek vase painting, painting on pottery of ancient Greece, antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th a ...

red-figure Red-figure pottery () is a style of Pottery of ancient Greece, ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay. It developed in A ...

illustrations, a process commonly attributed to the

Andokides Painter Andokides was an ancient Athenian vase painter, active from approximately 530 to 515 BC. His work is unsigned and his true name unknown. He was identified as a unique artistic personality through stylistic traits found in common among several pain ...

. Correspondingly, both black-figured and red-figured vases are attributed to the Eucharides Painter. Their shapes range from large kraters to small cups. Scenes were drawn from mythology and daily life. Many of this artist's known works were retrieved from Etruscan tombs in Italy. Recently, one of his attic vases was claimed to be looted and was repossessed by the Italian State.
NY Observer

Vases

Examples of Attic vases attributed to the Eucharides Painter are on display around the world, e.g.: * Getty Museum, Malibu, California, USA (no. 86.AE.227). Attic red-figure water jar illustrating a young boy and a reveller with the eponymous inscription
Kalos Eucharides
(Beazley Archive Database Number 275122) * Vatican City

(no. H545) Attic red-figure hydria illustrating a scene from

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

´s

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

the killing of Hektor by Achilles
(Beazley Archive Vase Number 202267) * London, British Museum (no. B178). Attic black-figured amphora illustrating Dionysos with Ivy and Kantharos between Satyrs. (Beazley Archive Vase Number 302996). * Paris, Musée du Louvre. Attic red-figure amphora illustratin
Satyre et Menade
* St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum. (Inv. No. Б. 2604). Attic red-figure hydria-kalpis illustratin

* Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. Attic red-figure wine amphora illustratin
the killing of Argos by Hermes
* Bremen
Antikenmuseum
im Schnoor/ Sammlung Zimmermann. Black-figured pseudo-panathenaic amphora. * Copenhagen, National Museum Attic red-figured stamnos illustrating a Woman with a Mirror, a Seated Youth Looks at a Dog. Inscription.
Beazley Archive Database Number 202230

Literature

*Beazley, J. D., ''Attic Red figured Vase Painters'', 2nd edition (Oxford, 1963) ARV²*Beazley, J. D., ''Attic Black-figure Vase-painters'' (Oxford, 1956)

External links

Biography

{{Authority control 5th-century BC Athenians Ancient Greek vase painters