Lydos

Lydos (Greek: Λυδός, the Lydian) was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. Active between '’circa’’ 560 and 530 BC, he was the main representative of the '’’Lydos Group’’’ . The name Lydos, preserved in the form ό Λυδός (ho Lydos, the Lydian) on two vases, is informative regarding the origin 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 learnt his trade in Athens. It is difficult to definitely recognise his work, since he was the centre and main artist of a highly productive Attic pottery workshop. For that reason, many vases are simply described as in the style of Lydos. Several other individual artists within his circle can be identified, including the Painter of Vatican 309 and Painter of Louvre F 6. These works are quite homogeneous in style, but doffer considerably in terms of quality.

The style of Lydos strongy resembles that of older artists, such as the painters of Siana cups, of which he himself painted many. He was the last Attic painter to decorate large vases entirely with polychrome animal friezes in the Corinthian style. His human figures resemble the works of Klitias, and later painters, whose humans appear “wrapped” in cloth. Sometimes they have dotted garments, such as preferred by the Amasis Painter. His figures exude a dignity nearly akin to those by Exekias.[1] The Lydos Group did not only paint large vases, but also known for miniature work. For example, they painted ittle-master cups and eye-cups. Ascribed to Lydos himself is a band cup potted by Nikosthenes. Works ascribed to Lydos can be found on all types of vase shape then produced in the Athenian potters’ quarter, including a seriesof grave pinakes. One of the two signed vases is a dinos, preserved only in fragments and found on the Athenian Acropolis.[2] In style it resembles the works of the Painter of Acropolis 606 and Nearchos. The main frieze depicts a very carefully designed gigantomachy. Subsidiary friezes show a procession a hunt and various animals. Especially striking aspects of the work are a number of details and the colouring. This, Lydos painted a wasp as a shield emblazonment and dangerous-looking knives in the rocesion scene. These martial aspects are balanced by the high-quality animal friezes. Another well-known work by him is a column krater, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York.[3] It is nearly as large as the François Vase, but decorated only with a single frieze, so that the figures reach a height of nearly 25 cm. The painter focused not so much on the depicted narrative (return of Hephaistos), but on the gestures of thefigures Dionysos and Hephaistos, and even more so of the accompanying satyrs and maenads. He omitted circumstantial detail, as used e.g. by Klitias, and failed to present the satyrs genitals as the Amasis Painter would have. Instead, his satyrs are depicted as “gentlemen”.[1] Lydos frequently panted mythological scenes and newly introduced several specific motifs of that genre to Attic vase painting. The quality of his paintings varies. He often painted so-called “penguin women”, wearing a cloak held together by the chest, probably by a kind of sash, and terminating in a tail-like feature at the back.His men often ere a himation, painted in diagonal stripes, so that they appear as if bandaged. An oinochoe, the vessel itself made by the potter Kolchos (Berlin, Antikensammlung F 1732) depicts mannerist figures.[4] Athena (supporting Herakles who is fighting Kyknos is rendered as a silhouette figure in the stale of the Amasis Painter, while the figures of Ares and Zeus (who joins the fighting) represent an attempt to utilise the new three-dimensiol drawing style, developed around 540 BC. Lydos’s palmettes, placed on neck and handles of the vessel are stylistically transitional: they can be seen as a late form of the earlier black-figure style, but also as a the beginning of the decorative styles that were to folourish in red-figure vase painting. His best works also include several plates decorated with flying or running figures. One of his plates is decorated with a gorgoneion covering the entire surface. His early works show a tendency to use colour, which decreased throughout his career. Similarly, at an early stage he paid much attention to certain details, such as the hairy backs of cat-like animals, whereas later he concentrated more on gesture. His animal figures appear somewhat stiff, but are usually highly decorative.[4] Lydos painted vases by a variety of potters, including Nikosthenes, Kolchos, Epitimos and Amasis. Hisn workshop’s style can be described as out-of-date but was used well into the 520s BC. It is not clear why that is the case; perhaps the material was aimed at older or poorer customers.[4] The last artist to resemble Lydos in style was the Ready Painter.

Contents

Works

Amphora 86.AE.60
Column Krater 31.11.11
five vases

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Boardman: Schwarzfigurige Vasenmalerei, p. 58
  2. ^ Athens, National Museum Acr. 607
  3. ^ Inventory 31.11.11
  4. ^ a b c Boardman: Schwarzfigurige Vasenmalerei, p. 59

External links

References

Sources

This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.
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