The Leagros Group was a group of Atticblack-figure vase painters active during the last two decades of the 6th century BC. The name given to the group by modern scholars is a conventional one, derived from a series of name vases.
The Leagros Group was the final important group of Attic vase painters in the black-figure style to paint large-format images on vases. Their significance is so great that their time of activity is also known as the Leagros period. About 400 vases are ascribed to the group; most of them are hydriaI and neck amphorae, constituting about half of the group's surviving products. Additionally, they painted other types of amphorae, kraters, lekythoi, and, in small amounts, some other shapes. The group's conventional name is derived from five vases with kalos-inscriptions mentioning the ephebeLeagros.
Hydriai by the group resemble those by the Antimenes Painter, feature more widely flayed lips and shallower broader shoulders. The earlier animal frieze predellas and frame lines decorated with ivy leaves are now replaced by palmettes with broad separate leaves. They are organised in rounded loops. Such patterns are rare in black-figure vase painting, but very popular in the red-figure style contemporary with the Leagros Group. At times, the Leagros Group painters used the white-ground technique on the necks of their amphora, again a feature introduced by the Antimenes Painter. The decoration of their neck amphorae is also similar to his, but the vegetal ornaments on the necks are more carefully painted and the lotus flowers look rather like celery stalks.
Their figural scenes, for the last time, demonstrate the power and complexity of the black-figure style. They include complex scenes with multiple figures, often overlapping. The incisions are forceful and clear, the depiction of anatomic detail is restrained. Additional colours are only used to a limited extent. Garment folds and patterns only occur rarely and in little detail. Thus, the Leagros Group artists demonstrate the strong points of the black-figure style, while the contemporaneous Pioneer Group show the possibilities offered by the newly introduced red-figure technique, veritably indulging in details of anatomy and clothing. The Leagros Group achieved to adopt some of the innovations associated with the new technique within the limits of their style. Muscles and textiles are depicted in a reduced form. The small eyes of their figures are another striking feature. The group's artists profit particularly from innovations in terms of perspective and spatial depictions, although they use them rarely. All figures feature idealised proportions of body and facial expression. Compared to the figures by the Antimenes Painter, they appear quite sturdy. The group does not waste available space; its image fields are usually well filled. That they do not appear crammed is due to the compositional talent of the painters. The compositions are balanced, convincing and full of tension. Sometimes, details extend beyond the margins of the pictorial field proper.
Within the group, several smaller sub-groups and individual painters can be identified, albeit with considerable difficulty, due to the very homogenous styles of the painters. The most significant individual artists are the Acheloos Painter and the Chiusi Painter. The group favoured mythological themes, especially scenes from the Trojan War and the adventures of Herakles. For example, the scene of Achilles and Ajax playing a board game is depicted several times. Some motifs were newly introduced by painters of the Leagros Group, others depicted and interpreted in new ways. Although similar changes took place in red-figure vase painting, the two developments should probably be seen as separate, in spite of the possibility of a degree of mutual influence. Leagros Group painters may have been active in the same workshops as Pioneer Group ones, as is suggested by the fact that the kalos name Leagros also occurs on vases by Euphronios, Phintias and Euthymides. The links and mutual influences among the two groups remain disputed. John Boardman sees them exist side-by-side, Heide Mommsen suggests a major degree of interaction.
Bibliography
John Beazley: Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters, Oxford 1956, p.354-391, 695f.
Paralipomena. Additions to Attic black-figure vase-painters and to Attic red-figure vase-painters. Oxford 1971. p.160-172
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 BCE, although there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BCE. 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.
Red-figure pottery is a style of 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.
The Kleophrades Painter is the name given to the anonymous red-figure Athenian vase painter, who was active from approximately 510–470 BC and whose work, considered amongst the finest of the red-figure style, is identified by its stylistic traits.
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.
The Affecter was an Attic black-figure vase painter, active in Athens around 550 to 530 BCE.
The Antimenes Painter was an Attic vase painter of the black-figure style, active between circa 530 and 510 BC.
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 Amasis Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter who worked in the black-figure technique. He owes his name to the signature of the potter Amasis, who signed twelve works painted by the same hand. At the time of the exhibition, "The Amasis Painter and His World" (1985), 132 vases had been attributed to this artist.
Andokides was an ancient Athenian vase painter, active from approximately 530 to 515 B.C. 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 paintings. This corpus was then attributed by John D. Beazley to the Andokides Painter, a name derived from the potter Andokides, whose signature appears on several of the vases bearing the painter's work. He is often credited with being the originator of the red-figure vase painting technique. To be sure, he is certainly one of the earliest painters to work in the style. In total, fourteen amphorae and two cups are attributed to his hand. Six of the amphorae are "bilingual", meaning they display both red-figure and black-figure scenes.
The Providence Painter is the conventional name given to a painter of the Attic red-figure style. He was active around 470 BC.
The Ptoon Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter of black-figure style active in Athens in the middle third of the 6th century BC. His real name is unknown.
Group E was a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style. They were active between 560 and 540 BC.
The Phrynos Painter was an Attic black-figure vase painter, active in Athens between c. 560 and 545 BC. He was allocated the conventional name "Phrynos Painter" after the potter Phrynos, as he had painted three cups signed by the latter:
Elbows Out is the name given to an Attic black-figure vase painter, active in Athens around 550/540 to 520 BC. His conventional name is derived from the strongly exaggerated gestures and odd anatomy of his dancing figures. Together with the Affecter, he is considered one of the Mannerists of the black-figure style. He painted e.g. lip cups and neck amphorae, the latter in a special shape with a heavy ovoid body. His amphorae are decorated with several friezes. His band cups resemble works by Tleson and Lydos, but are more conventional in terms of the animal motifs. He also painted a lydion, a vase shape very rarely produced by Attic potters. He is often seen as connected with the Affecter, but also with the Amasis Painter. The link with the latter should not be overestimated.
The Swing Painter was an Attic black-figure vase painter, active in the third quarter of the sixth century BC. His real name is unknown.
The Rycroft Painter was an Attic late black-figure vase painter, active in the final decade of the sixth century BC. His real name is not known.
The term Three Line Group describes a group of Attic black-figure vase painters, as well as a type of vase. They belong to the last quarter of the sixth century BC.
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.
The Priam Painter was a vase painter in the black-figure technique, active in Athens during the late 6th century BC.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
