The Reed Painter (''

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

'' 420s–410s BC) is an anonymous Greek vase painter of

white-ground White-ground technique is a style of white ancient Pottery of ancient Greece, Greek pottery and the Greek vase painting, painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica, dated to about 500 BC. It was ...

lekythoi A lekythos (; : lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil, especially olive oil. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel, and is thus a narrow type of jug, with no pouring lip; the oinochoe is ...

, a type of vessel for containing oil often left as grave offerings. Works are attributed to either the "Reed Painter" or his

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or vi ...

. The vessels of the Reed Painter are typical of white-ground lekythoi in that they often focus on real people, in contrast to the earlier

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 ...

tradition that featured scenes of mythical figures pertaining to Dionysiac cult. The purpose of the lekythos is often reflected in its subject matter. This artist's most common theme is a scene depicting a visit to a tomb. The figures, usually a woman bringing offerings or a youth leaning on a spear, display quiet dignity rather than emotion. The tomb, topped by a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

, provides important evidence for funerary monuments in

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

at the time. The artist takes his name from his characteristic use of reeds in the landscape, particularly in depictions of

Charon In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon ( ; ) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the worlds of the living and ...

, the ferryman of the dead in

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. A lekythos by the Reed Painter is one of only a few white-figure examples that depict a horseman at a tomb; unusually, the youth sits at the tomb with his horse rather than riding it. He may be an

ephebe ''Ephebos'' (; pl. ''epheboi'', ), latinized as ephebus (pl. ephebi) and anglicised as ephebe (pl. ephebes), is a term for a male adolescent in Ancient Greece. The term was particularly used to denote one who was doing military training and pr ...

in training for the cavalry, as he wears the black cloak ''(

chlamys The chlamys (; genitive: ) was a type of ancient Greek cloak. It was worn by men for military and hunting purposes during the Classical, Hellenistic and later periods. By the time of the Byzantine Empire it was part of the state costume of the ...

)'' that was characteristic attire for the Athenian ephebe at certain processions and festivals. He also wears a helmet in the shape of the ''

petasos A petasos () or petasus (Latin) is a broad brimmed hat of Thessalian origin worn by ancient Greeks, Thracians and Etruscans, often in combination with the chlamys cape. It was made of wool felt, leather, straw or animal skin. Women's versions ha ...

'', a hat typically worn by travelers, the metal version of which appears on Athenian

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s and is known from archaeology. He carries two hunting spears, and not the '' kamax'', the long thin spear principally used by Greek cavalry. Around the turn of the 21st century a number of the artist's lekythoi were discovered in a mass burial of plague victims in Athens. Work from the atelier of the Reed Painter is concentrated in Attica, though a few examples have been found as exports to

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the regional autonomy, Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province o ...

and

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

. The Reed Painter worked in true

white-ground technique White-ground technique is a style of white ancient Greek pottery and the painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica, dated to about 500 BC. It was especially associated with vases made for ritu ...

, in which

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

figures are outlined on the white ground, first in a dilute brown glaze and then in a more-fluid matt black or red. Women's skin was painted white on white, with solid colors on garments. The colors—including bright red, yellow, purple, blue, and green—were added after

firing Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method ...

. The unstable pigments have flaked away and often left figures on surviving vases with the appearance of nudity when they were intended to be clothed.Donald White ''et al.'', ''The Ancient Greek World: The Rodney S. Young Gallery'' (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1995), p. 35.

References

External links

Works at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtA Work at the Art Institute of Chicago
{{Authority control Ancient Greek vase painters Anonymous artists of antiquity 5th-century BC Athenians Year of birth unknown