Attic Red-Figure Pottery and Artists and Potters: Andokides, Berlin, and Euthymides
- sheilamilon22
- Sep 9, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Sep 12, 2021
Deepen your knowledge surrounding the innovative and beautiful works of Andokides (inventor, Archaic Period), Berlin (Classic Period), and Euthymides (master).
Red-figure pottery employs painting black slip onto the terra cotta background in place of incising, in order to allow for three-dimensional elements, drapery, and a livelier scene of movements, in place of two-dimensional and occasionally stiff Black-Figure pottery. "In the red-figure technique, an artist sketches figures on the red clay of a freshly fashioned vessel, then covers all the background with a slip (a liquid clay), which turns black after final firing. Details, like elements of anatomy, folds of drapery, etc. can be freely added with a thin brush; the slip can be darker, sometimes more diluted, brownish, adding even more variety. In the black-figure technique which was used previously, an artist had to fill the figures with slip, and then incise the details with a sharp burin, which was much more difficult to handle" (Khan Academy).
Courtesy of John Boardman's "Athenian Red Figure Vases":
Andokides ( c. 530-515)
Archaic Period
The Andokides Painter is credited with inventing the red-figure technique. Credited to his hand are at least fourteen amphorae (some of which are bilingual). He was well-versed in the black-figure technique, causing uncertainty about whether he is also the Lysippides Painter. A study of detail, theme, and composition hints at their similarities: preoccupation with Herakles scenes, similar approach to kneeling (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2), lying, throwing, features like helmets, trees, and animal ornaments but there are differences in minor anatomical details. Andokides was a pupil of Amasis and was inspired by Exekias's designs.
Fig. 1
Technical details: Like Black-Figure, there was no difficulty in scratching a single, short line that changes directions of curve four times, but with a stiff brush it was almost impossible to complete this, hence the fragmentation of the pattern into two long folks which closely resembles muscles. He practiced the Six technique.
Features: knee caps are favored and displayed on the red figures by 2 long hooks (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3
Earlobes are shown as 2 full curves and although the area of the long lobe is the same, it is subtly hinted at while the inner markings of the ear are rendered in short lines (Fig. 4)
Fig. 4
His work is heavily influenced from the pre-existing, black-figure technique, which is present in the ornament on the vases and the lavish use of patterns on dresses, use of red, and use of incision to outline black areas of hair.
Clothing/Dress: falls to S-curving hems, not like the tight zig zag folds on later red figures; “the drapery of his figures possess rich decoration, complex meanders, crosses, swastikas, stars, and circles” (Boardman, 35), showed figure contour through dress with little emphasis on color or pattern, better at painting dress than anatomy
Floral patterns: black figure, but some are red-figure with fan palmettes and spiky lotuses; used purple for ivy vines as well as flowers and wreaths that were held by his figures nd on the handles of Type-A amphoras ; palmettes, Lotus designs and pomegranates or net patterns are used to frame his panels
did not employ the relief line, as a result, his figures are not sharply outlined
Eyes: In regards to from the start the saucer eyes of black bigger men are replaced by the unisex almond shape but are still frontal with the people barely shifted towards the front. Male eyes were painted but didn’t retain the same roundness as other incised male eyes. The Andokides’ Painter’s later work included more shallow curves.
The Andokides Painter emits many anatomical details.
Hair: Similarly to Black-figure, he employed incision to mark heads, hair, and beards. he also
Figures: male figures are more full and emphasized than female figures, who look stiff and pose with one breast and flat drapery (like older techniques), his females remained conservative, stiff and posed, fuller emphasis on individual figures
Subjects: range of subjects is limited - Dionysiac, Apolline, warriors in action or leaving home, and archers; he avoided inscriptions to identify his characters
Style: developed from mannered elegance with elaborate details to bold simplicity, artistic choice to incorporate incision on hair and weapons, added white for details such as tails and wreaths, added clay relief for a bow string, he did not employ the relief line, as a result, his figures are not sharply outlined
Themes: range from traditional myth and were exceptionally drawn
Quirk: draws on white ground, interest in smaller shapes, experimental (he was an innovator in techniques and shapes)
Scenes:
(Folsom, 37)
"Terracotta amphora (jar)ca. 530 B.C. Signed by Andokides. On the body, obverse, Herakles and Apollo vying for possession of the Delphic tripod, which was central to the oracle of Apollo; reverse, Dionysos, the god of wine, between satyr and maenad On the lip, obverse and reverse, Herakles and the Nemean Lion. The introduction of the red-figure technique is attributed to the workshop of Andokides. While we think of red-figure mainly in terms of drawing, it differs from black-figure also in the very different apportionment of glazed and unglazed surfaces on a vase. The preparation of these surfaces was probably the responsibility of the potter, and for this reason, the new technique is associated with a potter rather than a painter. On some works combining red-figure and black-figure, a single painter seems to have done both; here, however, two different artists are likely. The scene on the obverse depicts the hero Herakles with his club and the god Apollo with bow and arrows, struggling over the Delphic tripod, which Herakles sought to carry off" (MET).
For further study of Andokides, feel free to click on and explore the following:
Berlin (500 to 460 B.C.)
Late Archaic, Early Classic (by some)
The Berlin Painter is now credited with nearly 300 vases, with most belonging to the years from 500 to about 480 B.C. He is best known as the painted of an amphora that depicts Hermes and a satyr, housed in Berlin (how telling). The greater freedom and clarity of red-figure allowed vase-painters to adjust to larger developments after about 480 B.C. when the conventions of Archaic art began to yield to the increased simplicity and naturalism of the Early Classical style. Berlin's work belongs to the Late Archaic period but some attribute it to the Early Classic, as well.
Hair: reserved, relief line contour is used sparingly on faces, relief hair ringlets and detailing of eyelashes (such as 146)
Body features: no special or exclusive tricks regarding anatomy, preference for dot rosette nipples, genitals on frontals, triangles in linear patterns on chests, hips, and stomachs; “Whole limbs are still not foreshortened, but feet are well managed in three-quarter view from the front of back, and a realistic disposition of belly pattern either side of the median on twisting torsos” (Boardman, 95)
Clothing/Dress: dots for circle earrings worn by women, long wavy lines in both brown and black or in alternating sweeps from left and right on cloaks; full dress exhibits a steady change from the Archaic stacked folds to verticals all-over and wavy hemlines
Florals: vary; neat circumscribed palmettes (in the color black) in his earliest work, lotuses whose angular centrepieces divide into trefoil palmettes with elongating center leaves
Technique/Technical Details: His technique is impeccable: “the lines are thin, equable, and flowing, not dry nor wet, and thick and strong” according to Beazley (Boardman, 95); border and ground patterns are distinctive with the meander chopped into units, often paired and totally interrupted by boxed X’s (saltire crosses) or checkers
Subjects:
(Boardman, 95)
"The painted subjects extend from scenes of cult, athletics, and musical performance to numerous encounters between gods and heroes, with Athena, Herakles, and Dionysos being particular favorites. Other works draw on the rich body of Greek myth and epic, with many stories portrayed in novel compositions that demonstrate the Berlin Painter’s remarkable sophistication as an artist" (Princeton Art Museum).
According to Britannica, "Among the vases most frequently attributed to the Berlin Painter are an amphora (now in Munich) depicting a discus thrower, made especially for the Great Panathenaea, a festival of games held in Athens every four years; a bell krater, now in the Louvre, Paris, representing Zeus pursuing Ganymede; a volute krater now in the British Museum, showing Achilles in his last two victories; a hydria (water pot) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, showing Achilles and Penthesileia; and a hydria in the Vatican, depicting Apollo traveling over the sea on a winged tripod. It is thought that the Achilles Painter was one of his pupils.".
Style:
(Princeton Art Museum)
(MET)
The following are from John Boardman's "Athenian Red Figure Vases"
The following are from Folsom's "Attic Reed-Figured Pottery"
Feel free to check out this video lecture for more on the Berlin Painter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJKTFyNPJw
Euthymides (515 to 510 B.C.)
Master
Euthymides was an early red-figure pottery and is considered to be one of, if not the greatest master(s) of the early Archaic style. His signature has been found with the words “egrapsen” or “egraphe” on six works, in addition to “son of Pollias” added in three cases. Twenty-one items are attributed to him, with most of them being large pots on which he painted in a “monumental style” (Folsom, 40).
Technical: Lines are drawn with complete assurance, posed in better compositions, greater roundness, his use of both black and golden-brown dilute lines shows interest in anatomy; according to Boardman, “the revelers on one of his amphorae are by far the most successful examples of three-quarter front and back views of the human figure drawn by any artist prior to the sixth century” (40), coral red-bands on cups; uses very thin lines for anatomical details
Inscriptions: employed inscriptions to identify characters, named favorites of the time, he included the words of characters shown
Floral: Continued to use palmatte, lotuses, pomegranate, and other black-figure designs to frame the sides and bases of his panels, like border designs; thin bud and flowers friezes; black open palmettes in scrolls that are circumscribed are commoner; the red figures florals have open palmettes, sometimes even in hearts, lotuses are less compact and in chains (like black-figure)
Figures: Male: was interested in showing the human body in a variety of poses; detailed rendering of chest and abdominal muscles; muscle patterns are foreshortened to heighten this effect; rather ambitious anatomical studies of a man in motion; Female: not as stiff as others painters, moved freely and lightly, only one breast
(Boardman, 31)
Clothing: Drapery was smooth with ease, wide flat areas between groups of pleats; “In the dress, the contrast of thinned and relief lines is well-exploited, the close set thin wavy lines for the upper part of chitons is regular, Euthymides uses thinned lines besides the heavier folds of himatia and skirts. The zigzag hemlines of dress are rendered in more realistic S-curves without losing any of the decorative effect of stacked or splaying folds. The further hemline, seen from inside, is usually a plain scalloped curve or series of curves” (Boardman, 31)
Hair: Incision and reserving outline of hair and beard
Eyes: Asymmetrical curves showing a drop towards the tear duct, occasionally opening slightly there, round pupil is set at the center or just forward of the center; eyelashes are de rigeur
Subjects: Theseus, Korone, Helen, Apollo, Leto, and Hektor
Scenes: interest in everyday life in comparison to mythology; preference in showing athletes, arming and departure of warriors, and more; he tended to decorate his vases with just a few large figures, rarely overlapping them.
Works: According to Brittanica, "An amphora signed by Euthymides representing “Revelers” is a study in foreshortening and in three-quarters view. Now in the Antikensammlungen at Munich, it dates from about 510 to 500 BC. Other works include an “Arming of Hector” and “Heracles Fighting the Amazons.”
In addition to his vase painting it is possible that Euthymides made a small clay plaque for the Athenian Acropolis. It was of a “Warrior,” painted partly in black-figure, partly in outline"
Rivalry with Euphronius: “As never Ephronios [could do]” wrote painter Euthymides after painting his new amphora (an amphora is a type of Greek vase in this shape). Euthymides had a clear sense of achievement and was indeed proud of his work, boastfully challenging his friend and rival—Euphronios. He would see Euphronios often, as well as other painters in the Kerameikos—the potter’s quarter in Athens. They would be curious to see one another’s new work, sometimes with appreciation, sometimes with a bit of jealousy. In the evenings they often had a good time together at a symposium (a kind of ancient Greek male drinking party). They would drink wine mixed with water, become garrulous, loud and—if drinking went on for too long—they might even start singing and even dancing. Perhaps what is depicted on this amphora is a scene similar to those Euthymides witnessed at one of these long parties. Euphronios indeed was a master potter and painter, and Euthymides knew that and had a full appreciation for his work. He thought, however, that his figures seemed much more lively, caught in a split of a moment, in a dancing movement” (Khan Academy).
Courtesy of Khan Academy and Author Katarzyna Minollari
Fragment of Terra Cotta Kylix (drinking cup), attributed to Euthymides, Courtesy of MET Museum, 515 B.C.
Images courtesy of Folsom
Courtesy of Boardman's "Athenian Red Figure Vases"
Here is video exploring “Hector Arming/Three Men Carousing by Euthymides”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGMSCg1uEoM
Summary and Timeline of Red-Figure Pottery, Courtesy of Folsom
Now that you've learned more about these artists and their different styles and characteristics, along with approach to incision and painting lines, please click on this interactive study tool to test your knowledge of black and red-figure vases, where you will demonstrate your ability to attribute physical characteristics on vessels to the artist that created them: https://quizlet.com/499556051/ancient-athenian-attic-black-and-red-figure-pottery-interactive-study-set-diagram/
Sources
Boardman, John. Athenian Red Figure Vases: The Archaic Period. Thames & Hudson, 1975.
Boardman, John. Athenian Red Figure Vases: The Classical Period. Thames and Hudson, 1989.
Folsom, Robert Slade. Attic Red-Figured Pottery. Noyes Press, 1975.
Andokides
Berlin
Euthymides
Comments