Krater by the Underworld Painter Staatliche Antikensammlungen Munich 1

The Underworld Painter was an ancient Greek

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 second half of the 4th century BC.

Career

The Underworld Painter is the successor of the

Darius Painter The Darius Painter was an Apulian Apulian vase painting, vase painter and the most eminent representative at the end of the "Red-figure pottery, Ornate Style" in South Italian Red-figure pottery, red-figure vase painting in Magna Graecia. His wor ...

, in whose workshop he began his career and where he worked with other influential craftsmen. This was a large factory-like workshop, probably at Taras. He most frequently depicted theatrical scenes, especially ones from the Classical tragedies by

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

, and

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 ...

themes.

Works

One of his works shows

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

and

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

in her palace in the underworld. The compositions and the mythological content are close to those of the Darius Painter, and the influences can be seen in his depictions of robes and faces. Other subjects include Hades kidnapped Persephone,

Eos In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Eos (; Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek ''Ēṓs'', Attic Greek, Attic ''Héōs'', "dawn", or ; Aeolic Greek, Aeolic ''Aúōs'', Doric Greek, Doric ''Āṓs'') is the go ...

kidnapped

Cephalus Cephalus or Kephalos (; ) is the son of Hermes, husband of Eos and a hero-figure in Greek mythology. Cephalus carried as a theophoric name by historical persons. The root of this name is , meaning "head". Mythological * Cephalus, son of Hermes ...

, and

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

abducting the daughters of

Leucippus Leucippus (; , ''Leúkippos''; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. He is traditionally credited as the founder of atomism, which he developed with his student Democritus. Leucippus divided the world into two entities: atoms, indivisible ...

. In the first two vases he is quite free in his presentation, he distributed the figures on different levels and separates them by tendrils friezes. The third vase is another thematically appropriate image, which is unique in the vase painting is one of its kind: Castor and Pollux fight against the sons of Aphareus. His early work has influenced the later artists Painter of Louvre MNB 1148.

Style

The Underworld Painter often exaggerated with decoration, so that the vases are a little overweight. In addition, he sometimes had problems with the representation of faces, so that its people appear grumpy. He strength was with the muscles naked men, which is depicted as taut and body stressing. This is reminiscent of Hellenistic sculptures. However, his painted legs are often quite thin. He attached great importance to some details. He carefully distinguished hair and patterned clothes. The Underworld Painter in his repertoire is less original than the Darius Painter, but he also shows some rarely shown Melanippe stories like the myth of two plays of

. This story has so far not been found on any other vase. Also known from the Berlin Collection of Classical Antiquities is the Gigantomachy

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 ...

, the Priamiden krater and the krater of Persephone). The late work attributed to the artist is seen quite critically and shows a rapid decrease in the skill and quality. It is thought that it was no longer the work of the Underworld Painter, but the other painters of his workshop.

Bibliography

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 ...

. '' Red-figure vases of South Italy and Sicily. A handbook.'' Philip of Saverne, Mainz, 1991 (Cultural History of the Ancient World Vol 47), esp. p. 115-118 .

External links

Name vase at the Munich, Antikensammlungen
Perseus
Works at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtWork and fragments at the Getty Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underworld Painter 4th-century BC deaths Ancient Greek vase painters Anonymous artists of antiquity People from Apulia Year of birth unknown