The Brygos Painter was an ancient Greek Attic red-figure vase painter of the Late Archaic period. Together with Onesimos, Douris and Makron, he is among the most important cup painters of his time. He was active in the first third of the 5th century BCE, especially in the 480s and 470s BCE. He was a prolific artist to whom over two hundred vases have been attributed, but he is perhaps best known for the Brygos Cup, a red-figure kylix in the Louvre which depicts the "iliupersis" or sack of Troy.
The artist’s name is derived from several cups painted in a distinctive style and bearing the signature “Brygos.” This inscription, currently present on sixteen vessels (some complete pieces and some fragments), is often accompanied by the word epoiesen. This suggests that the name refers to the potter or maker, rather than the painter, whose name would likely be followed by the word egrapsen. Some scholars persist in believing that the Brygos designation suggests that the painter and potter are one and the same; however, this seems problematic given the presence of the signature on a handful of vessels that were not painted by the Brygos Painter, but rather were decorated by other contemporary artists. This would imply that indeed the name of Brygos most likely belongs to the potter who fashioned the matrices on which the unnamed painter created his masterpieces. [1] More likely, there was a partnership in place that resulted in Brygos forming the vessels with the Brygos Painter providing the illustrations. Nevertheless, the name “Brygos Painter” has been used by scholars since P. Hartwig as a means to outline a single master’s style and artistic production. [2]
In the 19th century CE, a magnificent red-figure kylix bearing the Brygos signature and painted in the style of the artist now known as the Brygos Painter was discovered in a 5th-century BCE tomb in Capua, leading John Beazley to dub the tomb (Tomb II) the “Brygos Tomb." [3] A fragment of a plate depicting a reveler, painted by the Brygos Painter, was found on the Athenian Acropolis. Its burned exterior and excavation alongside remnants of marble architecture indicate it was part of the debris from the Persian destruction of the site, giving it a terminus ante quem of 480 BCE. [4] Otherwise, the majority of vases attributed to the painter have emerged on the international art market without archaeological context.
The Brygos Painter was one of the most productive painters of his generation; more than 200 vases have been attributed to him. Apart from kylikes , he also painted other vase shapes, such as skyphoi , kantharoi , rhyta , a calathus-like vessel with a pouring spout and a number of lekythoi . By far the majority of his works were kylikes of the types B and C. The latter were often executed without maeander base lines; the former frequently stood on conical bases. The meanders around his tondo paintings are rarely continuous, most are interrupted by sets or rows of crosses. Apart from his red-figure work, the Brygos Painter is known to have produced some white-ground vases.
The Brygos Painter seems to be one of the earliest red-figure artists who were not in direct contact with the so-called Pioneers. [5] His teacher appears to have been Onesimos, as his style is derived from the earlier work of that master, and their periods of production run parallel. [6] Typical subjects are symposium and palaistra scenes, and his figures are characterized by their flat-topped heads, long noses, and narrow eyes with high, arching eyebrows. While his drawing is not always of the utmost precision, the postures of his figures and the expressiveness of their faces are remarkable. He is also one of the first, and very few, painters who managed to paint a child to look truly like a child, and not like a small adult. Many of his figures also clearly display the effects of age. Stubbly beards or stubbly hair (on old men), as well as signs of balding, are also typical. His skill in painting the human mouth is exceptional: his figures are shown whistling, singing, playing the flute or clenching their lips with a high degree of anatomical accuracy. All this indicates the Brygos Painter was a skilled observer of human emotion, expression, and interaction.
His renderings of mythological scenes are frequently original. Thus, he depicts the body of Ajax being covered by Tekmessa, the handing-over of the body of Hector and other scenes from the Trojan War. Dionysiac scenes are common as well. A famous kylix depicts satyrs attacking the goddesses Iris and Hera. While Iris attempts to flee, Hera is protected by Heracles and Hermes. Dionysos is present, but apparently uninvolved. As on many of the Brygos Painter's vases, the figures are named by inscription; at times he even indicates what they say. In spite of his frequent use of writing, kalos inscriptions by the Brygos Painter are rare.
The Brygos Painter was associated with a broader circle of artists who were influenced by him or may even have worked with him at the studio of the potter Brygos. These include the Foundry Painter, the Briseis Painter, the Dokimasia Painter, the Painter of Louvre G 265 and the Painter of the Paris Gigantomachy. While the Brygos Painter's work spans only a period of approximately twenty years, it has been said to demonstrate what many describe as an exciting, innovative, and spirited beginning with a decline in the later years of his career, characterized by weaker work. [7] This argument, however, assumes that “weaker work” is the product of old age rather than inexperience or even another painter. Indeed, Beazley notes that it is often difficult to determine if a piece is late-Brygan or a simply school piece of another artist emulating his style. [6]
In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot and usually two horizontal handles disposed symmetrically. The main alternative wine-cup shape was the kantharos, with a narrower and deeper cup and high vertical handles.
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.
Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting.
Euphronios was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter, active in Athens in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. As part of the so-called "Pioneer Group,", Euphronios was one of the most important artists of the red-figure technique. His works place him at the transition from Late Archaic to Early Classical art, and he is one of the first known artists in history to have signed his work.
Douris or Duris was an ancient Athenian red-figure vase-painter and potter active c. 500 to 460 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.
Epiktetos was an Attic vase painter in the early red-figure style. Besides Oltos, he was the most important painter of the Pioneer Group. He was active between 520 BC and 490 BC. His name translates as "newly acquired", which is most probably a reference to his slave status.
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".
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 ritual and funerary use, if only because the painted surface was more fragile than in the other main techniques of black-figure and red-figure vase painting. Nevertheless, a wide range of subjects are depicted.
The Nessos Painter, also known as Netos or Nettos Painter, was a pioneer of Attic black-figure vase painting. He is considered to be the first Athenian to adopt the Corinthian style who went on to develop his own style and introduced innovations. The Nessos Painter is often known to be one of the original painters of black-figure. He only worked in this style, which is shown on his name vase in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Most of the known Nessos Painter ceramics were found in funerary settings such as cemeteries and mortuaries.
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.
The Antiphon Painter was an Athenian vase painter of the early 5th century BC. He owes his name to a double Kalos inscription of Antiphon on the dinos stand in the Antique collection of Berlin. He was active between 500 and 475 BC in Athens as a painter of the red-figure style in the largest workshop of the 5th century. He learned his handicraft in the workshop of Euphronios and Onesimos. There he worked closely with them, the Kalmarer Painter and other painters.
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 Penthesilea Painter was a Greek vase painter of the Attic red-figure style. His true name is unknown. His conventional name is derived from his name vase, "bowl 2688" in Munich, the inside of which depicts the slaying of Penthesilea by Achilles. On the basis of that work, John Beazley attributed 177 known vases to the painter, about 100 of which only survive fragmentarily. Bowls, 149 in number, represent the bulk of his work. The rest is distributed among small shapes like skyphoi, kantharoi and bobbins.
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.
The Foundry Painter was an ancient Greek Attic red-figure vase painter of the Late Archaic period. His real name is unknown; the conventional name is derived from his most famous work, the Berlin Foundry Cup.
Boeotian vase painting was a regional style of ancient Greek vase painting. Since the Geometric period, and up to the 4th century BC, the region of Boeotia produced vases with ornamental and figural painted decoration, usually of lesser quality than the vase paintings from other areas.
The Brygos Cup of Würzburg is an Attic red-figure kylix from about 480 BC. It was made by the Brygos potter and painted by the man known as the Brygos Painter. It depicts some of the best-known images of ancient Greek pottery.
The kylix depicting athletic combats is a ceramic drinking cup made approximately in the late Archaic period, 490 B.C., in Attica. It is currently in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston as part of The Ancient World Collections. The artist, Onesimos, used red-figure technique for the decoration, which was invented in Athens around 530 B.C. and quickly became one of the leading modes of decoration Athenian potters used. Red-figure technique was favored because it allowed for a greater representation of garments, emotions and anatomy making it useful for artists, such as Onesimos, to use in painting athletic events.
*The Getty Museum - Biography of the Brygos Painter Working in Athens in the early 400s B.C., the Brygos Painter was a prolific decorator of red-figure cups. Over two hundred vases have been attributed to him, including a limited number of shapes other than cups and some vessels in the white-ground technique. Having learned his craft from Onesimos, the Brygos Painter was himself quite influential and was the center of a large circle of painters. The Brygos Painter painted both genre and mythological scenes, being especially fond of depictions of symposia, athletes, and Achilles. His treatments of mythological scenes were often innovative, and he was also rather stylistically experimental. He had a greater interest in spatial effects and setting than did his contemporaries. By using dilute glaze washes to show three-dimensionality, his painting technique comes close to shading. As with most Greek vase-painters, the real name of the Brygos Painter is unknown, and he is identified only by the stylistic traits of his work. He is named after the potter Brygos, with whom he worked. Some scholars think the painter and potter may be one and the same person.
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