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

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

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 ...

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 (, ; , ) was a large two-handled type of vase in 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 the center of the room. The ...

s, ''

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'' and ''

pelike A pelike () is a one-piece ceramic container similar to an 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 stor ...

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 () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

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), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

playing a boardgame, a popular

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 ...

motif introduced by

Exekias Exekias (, ''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 scenes using a clay slip ...

, 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'' (; : ''kōmoi'') was a ritualistic drunken procession performed by revelers in ancient Greece, whose participants were known as ''kōmasts'' (κωμασταί, ''kōmastaí''). Its precise nature has been difficult to reconstruct ...

and

symposion In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

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 ad 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 potte
Myson
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 pup ...

. 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 The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler August Pauly. Other encyclopedias in t ...

'' Vol. 7 (1999), Col. 816 {{Authority control Ancient Greek vase-painting styles Artists of ancient Attica 5th-century BC Greek art