Euphronios

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Euphronios was a Greek painter and potter of red-figure vases, active in Athens between 520 and 470 BC, the time of the Persian Wars. Very little is known about his life other than what can be derived from the vases he signed (a total of eighteen survive, of which eight bear his name as painter and twelve bear his name as potter). Early in his career, Euphronios was apparently one of the leading vase-painters in Athens, and is considered foremost among the Pioneer Group of late Archaic painters who developed the red-figure technique. He is particularly admired for his use of foreshortening. His later vases he signed as a potter, rather than as a painter, and they are painted by other major vase-painters of the period. Euphronios's signature on these later pieces may indicate that he became wealthy and successful enough in his later years to own a workshop, with his signature functioning as the shop's trademark.^[1]

The "Euphronios krater" depicting the death of Sarpedon, one of Euphronios's finest surviving kraters, has been in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1972, but due to a legal investigation of Robert Hecht, the dealer from whom the Met bought it, the New York Times reports that the museum has agreed to return it to the Italian government, which has claimed ownership for more than 30 years.^[2]

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[edit] References

^ Biography of Euphronios at the Getty Museum
^ Kennedy, Randy, "Met Sending Vase to Italy, Ending 30-Year Dispute," The New York Times February 2, 2006.