The Painter of Nicosia Olpe was an ancient Greek vase painter, who was producing work around 575 BC to 475 BC, and these dates are concluded from the vases that were found and attributed to the specific painter. All of the pieces are black-figure, and this can also be determined by the dates. The majority of vases that he painted were larger pieces; this is not something that he had control over, but he did have control over the scenes on the vases. [1]
There are forty-five vases that are attributed to the Painter of Nicosia Olpe that are recorded and posted on the Beazley Archive. Out of those forty-five vases more than half are larger vase shapes such as amphora, amphora B, neck amphora, skyphos, and more. These large vases were found mostly in Italy, which means that most of the vases that the painter and workshop were producing were for the Italian market. Twelve of the forty-five vases were found in different parts of Italy such as Etruria, Capua, Nola, Taranto and South Italy as well. With the number of vases going to Italy one can conclude that there was a great need for large vases in Italy. There is a great number of larger vases being produced by the workshop, which means that the painter was able to draw and paint larger scenes of his choice. In this case the painter chose to mainly focus on departure scenes, and scenes of the God Dionysus with maenads and satyrs. There are two types of departure scenes that include horsemen or a chariot, however both of the types have youths and women. [2]
The first type of departure scene is of men and youths getting ready to leave for the battlefield, leaving their families behind. The painter took full advantage of the size of the vase, because he chose to paint the horses from a side view, which uses more of the surface area on the vase. On the sides of the horse the painter has drawn youths and women holding spears for the warrior that is leaving. The women are painted in white paint, and the men and youths are in black. The second type of departure scene is of a full chariot and the horsemen with women and youths holding spears on the side of the chariot. The horses that are pulling the chariot are drawn in a frontal manner, meaning the faces of the horses are facing the on looker of the vase.
The second theme that is very prevalent in the drawings that the painter of Nicosia Olpe did is of the God Dionysus with maenads and satyrs. Dionysus is the god of fertility in nature and also the god of wine, this is why he is usually depicted holding a gourd or a cup of some sort. Maenads are feminine creatures that are always dancing with satyrs who are masculine creatures that have tails and beards. Within these scenes Dionysus is the central figure, and surrounding him maenads and satyrs who are dancing around him as well.
These themes of departure and Dionysus with maenads and satyrs are not only specific to the Painter of Nicosia Olpe; there are other painters that paint these scenes. The fact that the painter has many departure and Dionysus themed scenes are details to note but this is not an attribute that can help differentiate that painter from other painters of his time. What is specific to the Painter of Nicosia Olpe is the way he draws eyes, and this also applies to horses and other creatures such as satyrs not only to men and women. The eyes are not very elaborately drawn, it seems as if the painter drew a circle and two lines on the sides. These themes and characteristics can also help find which other painters and workshops the Painter of Nicosia Olpe may have been associated, or related to. The Painter of Louvre F 28 uses the same technique of drawing eyes; they are closely related. Another painter that uses this same technique is the Painter of Ure’s Type A. The eyes are down in a similar manner however the way the noises are drawn different. The Painter of Nicosia Olpe has a more rounded noise and the Painter of Ure’s Type A has drawn a more pointed noise. A third painter or group that is associated is the group of Brussels R 300. The Painter of Nicosia Olpe and the group of Brussels R 300 share the theme of Dionysus. The major difference between the two is that the group of Brussels R 300 has the maenads and satyrs moving. The action of dancing is clearly seen within the scene, because the feet of the maenads and satyrs are in a pose shows that they are moving. [3]
The Lenaia was an annual Athenian festival with a dramatic competition. It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. The Lenaia took place in Athens in Gamelion, roughly corresponding to January. The festival was in honour of Dionysus Lenaios. There is also evidence the festival also took place in Delphi.
Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic, is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, although there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BC. Stylistically it can be distinguished from the preceding orientalizing period and the subsequent red-figure pottery style.
Exekias 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 that fired to black, with details created through incision. Exekias is regarded by art historians as an artistic visionary whose masterful use of incision and psychologically sensitive compositions mark him as one of the greatest of all Attic vase painters. The Andokides painter and the Lysippides Painter are thought to have been students of Exekias.
In Greek mythology and religion, the thiasus, was the ecstatic retinue of Dionysus, often pictured as inebriated revelers. Many of the myths of Dionysus are connected with his arrival in the form of a procession. The grandest such version was his triumphant return from "India", which influenced symbolic conceptions of the Roman triumph and was narrated in rapturous detail in Nonnus' Dionysiaca. In this procession, Dionysus rides a chariot, often drawn by big cats such as tigers, leopards, or lions, or alternatively elephants or centaurs.
The Kleophon Painter is the name given to an anonymous Athenian vase painter in the red-figure style who flourished in the mid-to-late 5th century BC. He is thus named because one of the works attributed to him bears an inscription in praise of a youth named "Kleophon". He appears to have been originally from the workshop of Polygnotos, and in turn to have taught the so-called Dinos Painter. Three vases suggest a collaboration with the Achilles Painter, while a number of black-figure works have also been attributed to him by some scholars.
The Berlin Painter is the conventional name given to an Attic Greek vase-painter who is widely regarded as a rival to the Kleophrades Painter, among the most talented vase painters of the early 5th century BCE.
Lydos was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. Active between about 560 and 540 BC, he was the main representative of the '’’Lydos Group’’’. His signature, ό Λυδός, ho Lydos ", inscribed on two vases, is informative regarding the cultural background of the artist. Either he immigrated to Athens from the Lydian empire of King Kroisos, or he was born in Athens as the son of Lydian parents. In any case, he learned his trade in Athens.
Psiax was an Attic vase painter of the transitional period between the black-figure and red-figure styles. His works date to circa 525 to 505 BC and comprise about 60 surviving vases, two of which bear his signature. Initially he was allocated the name "Menon Painter" by John Beazley. Only later was it realised that the artist was identical with the painters signing as "Psiax".
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:
Cunning composition; rapid motion; quick deft draughtsmanship; strong and peculiar stylisation; a deliberate archaism, retaining old forms, but refining, refreshing, and galvanizing them; nothing noble or majestic, but grace, humour, vivacity, originality, and dramatic force: these are the qualities which mark the Boston krater, and which characterize the anonymous artist who, for the sake of convenience, may be called the 'master of the Boston Pan-vase', or, more briefly, 'the Pan-master'.
The Eretria Painter was an ancient Greek Attic red-figure vase painter. He worked in the final quarter of the 5th century BC. The Eretria Painter is assumed to have been a contemporary of the Shuvalov Painter; he is considered one of the most interesting painters of his time. Many of his best works are painted on oinochoai and belly lekythoi. His paintings often depict many figures, moving in groups across all available surfaces. He also painted such vessels as figure-shaped vases or head-shaped kantharoi. Even as the vase shapes he painted on are unusual, his themes are conventional: athletes, satyrs and maenads, and mythological scenes. There are also some careful studies of women. He also painted white-ground vases. A lekythos in New York shows a funeral scene, typical of white-ground painting: Achilles is mourning Patroclus; the nereids bring him new weapons. The Eretria Painter's drawing style influenced later artists, e.g. the Meidias Painter and his school.
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.
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The Lysippides Painter was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. He was active around 530 to 510 BC. His conventional name comes from a kalos inscription on a vase in the British Museum attributed to him; his real name is not known.
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The Mastos Painter was a painter of ancient Greek vases. He is named for a black-figure mastos used by the art historian John Boardman to illustrate the type, which is shaped like a woman's breast.
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Python was a Greek vase painter in the city of Poseidonia in Campania, Southern Italy, one of the major cities of Magna Graecia in the fourth Century BC. Together with his close collaborator and likely master Asteas, Python is one of only two vase painters from Southern Italy whose names have survived on extant works. It has even been suggested that the joint workshop of Asteas and Python in Paestum was a family business.
Ancient Greek funerary vases are decorative grave markers made in ancient Greece that were designed to resemble liquid-holding vessels. These decorated vases were placed on grave sites as a mark of elite status. There are many types of funerary vases, such as amphorae, kraters, oinochoe, and kylix cups, among others. One famous example is the Dipylon amphora. Every-day vases were often not painted, but wealthy Greeks could afford luxuriously painted ones. Funerary vases on male graves might have themes of military prowess, or athletics. However, allusions to death in Greek tragedies was a popular motif. Famous centers of vase styles include Corinth, Lakonia, Ionia, South Italy, and Athens.
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