Kleophrades Painter
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The "Kleophrades Painter" (or Cleophrades Painter) is the name given to an anonymous ancient Athenian vase painter flourishing between about 505 BCE and 475 BCE, whose work is considered to be amongst the finest of the red figure style.[1] The appellation was given him in 1910 by classicist John Beazley, who identified the work of this artist on a cup by the potter Kleophrades, now in Paris. None of his works are signed, but for some time it was believed that his name was Epiktetos, when a signed pelike at the Berlin Antikenmuseen was attributed to him. This vase bears two inscriptions claiming "Epiktetos made me", and since there was a contemporaneous vase painter by that name but with a distinctly different style known to have been working in Athens, for some time academic literature referred to the Kleophrades Painter as "Epiktetos II". In 1981, however, John Boardman demonstrated that the signature on the vase was a modern forgery and the Kleophrades Painter returned to anonymity.
Beazley attributed 113 vessels in red-figure style to the Kleophrades Painter, as well as 21 black figure pieces. Since then, another 22 red figure attributions have been made; some identifications, both by Beazley and by later scholars, remain under discussion. Most of his work was done on large vessels, calyxes and amphorae, but painting on a great variety of pot types has been attributed to him. His early work is strongly reminiscent of Euthymides, to the point where it is virtually certain that he was one of that painter's students.
The Kleophrades Painter's style is praised for the quality of the draughtsmanship, as well as for the vigorous, robust, and well-proportioned figures that he depicted. His influence has been seen in the work of the Boot Painter and the Troilos Painter. In this latter case, the two artists have decorated vessels apparently by the same potter produced at roughly the same time, making it appear likely that they may have been working in the same workshop.
[edit] References
- ^ The Getty Museum - Biography of the Kleophrades Painter Working in Athens in the period from about 505 to 475 B.C, the Kleophrades Painter was a prolific vase-painter--more than one hundred vases attributed to him survive. He very likely was the pupil of Euthymides, one of the group of the red-figure Pioneers. He primarily worked in the red-figure technique but occasionally used the black-figure technique with enough facility that he may have been trained in this technique as well. Among his black-figure work are many Panathenaic amphorai. Working in the generation after the Pioneers, the Kleophrades Painter's work represents a period of consolidation after one of great experimentation and innovation. Remaining close to his Pioneer roots, he had a conservative approach, often retaining old-fashioned techniques. He favored decorating large vases, the same shapes painted by Euthymides. In subject matter, he tended to paint traditional scenes drawn from the Pioneers but with a new emphasis on scenes from the Trojan War.As with most Greek vase-painters, the real name of the Kleophrades Painter is unknown, and he is identified only by the stylistic traits of his work. His name comes from a signature of the potter Kleophrades on a cup now in Paris.
[edit] Sources
- Beazley Archive, University of Oxford - The Kleophrades Painter
- Artcyclopedia - The Kleophrades Painter
- The Getty Museum - Biography of the Kleophrades Painter
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