The Berlin Painter (active c. 490–460s BCE) is the
conventional name given to an
Attic Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
vase-painter who is widely regarded as a rival to the
Kleophrades Painter, among the most talented vase painters of the early 5th century BCE (see
Pottery of Ancient Greece).
The Berlin Painter along with the Kleophrades Painter was educated by a member of the
Pioneer Group The Pioneer Group is a term used by scholars for a number of vase painters working in potters' quarter of Kerameikos in ancient Athens around the beginning of the 5th century BC, around the time of the emergence of red-figure vase painting, which s ...
, who introduced
red-figure
Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting.
It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure va ...
painting.
Name vase
The Berlin Painter was named by Sir
John Beazley
Sir John Davidson Beazley, (; 13 September 1885 – 6 May 1970) was a British classical archaeologist and art historian, known for his classification of Attic vases by artistic style. He was Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the Un ...
for a large lidded
amphora in the
Antikensammlung Berlin (the Berlin Painter's ''
name vase
In classical archaeology, a name vase is a specific "vase"In the study of ancient Greek pottery a "vase" is a general term covering all pottery shapes. whose painter's name is unknown but whose workshop style has been identified. The painter is co ...
'').
Side A: satyr and Hermes. Hermes strides to the right swinging his arms. He holds a large kantharos and a kerykeion (herald's wand) in his forward hand, and a small oinochoe in his hand which he swings behind him. He is dressed in a short tunic and chlamys, and wears a winged cap and winged boots. A satyr stands in front of him facing right, his head turned to the left. He is holding a barbiton (lyre) in one arm, his fingers splayed across the strings. In his other hand, held out behind him, he holds the end of a string attached to the lyre. He has a long beard and wears a wreath, and his right leg is shown in three-quarters view. A fawn stands between the two figures, its head gracefully turned up. The figures are carefully superimposed on one another, forming a unified contour isolated against the black background of the vase.
Side B: Satyr. A satyr stands to the right, holding a large kantharos and a lyre. The kantharos is raised to his lips, while he holds the lyre at his side, his fingers touching the stings. His long hair is tied at his neck and he wears a wreath. Above the scene is a carefully drawn band of ivy leaves and grape bunches; below, forming a groundline but not extending all the way around the vase, is a running spiral, a rare pattern ornament in Attic Red Figure vase paintings.
![Terracotta amphora (jar) MET DT272](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Terracotta_amphora_%28jar%29_MET_DT272.jpg)
The vase is in good condition. Side A is well preserved, but side B has suffered surface wear and discoloration.
Forms and repertoire
There are no painter signatures on any of the Berlin Painter's attributed works. The Berlin Painter began working in the Late Archaic style and helped develop the Classic style of Attic
red-figure pottery. Over a long career he trained many younger vase-painters, including, probably, the
Achilles Painter.
He produced a series of
Panathenaic amphora, which are his only
black-figure
Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are ...
vases. (The Panathenaic amphora featured a depiction of the event for which it was the prize, and on the opposite side Athena. The Athena on his Panathenaic amphora was always depicted with a gorgoneion on her shield.) Although it appears that the Panathenaic shape is his favorite, the Berlin Painter utilized a variety of different shapes. He painted a number of Nolan Amphora, and was responsible for the popularity of that form.
On his other vases, painted red figures are usually isolated or paired without framing devices against a glossy black ground, so integral to the forms of their superbly-made bodies that the wares themselves are thought also to have been produced in his shop. The tall figures often start near the middle of the vase and continue over the shoulder, stopping at the neck. He pays close attention to the drapery of their clothing, and their facial features. Most notable is the eye, which is typically open, long, and with the pupil towards the inner eye.
He is also known for his careful stopt key patterns, which border the bottom of his single figures, and are unique to the Berlin painter and his students. The pattern features alternating
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ba ...
boxes with alternating
saltire
A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...
squares. The Berlin Painter used dilute glaze to add red tones onto his vases. This is clear on the fawn's coat in his namepiece. Fawns and Greek animals are popular themes in his work, which varied from mythological themes to athletes. His two most popular characters from mythology are Athena and Apollo. From the surviving vases, it is safe to assume that he was a major painter, there are over 400 vases and fragments attributed to him.
The majority of his works have been found across Italy. This may suggest that they were created for export to the Italian market.
[See David Saunders, in Padgett.] Many of his valued works were preserved as élite
grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.
They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
in the necropoleis of
Magna Graecia and
Etruria, notably at
Vulci
Vulci or Volci ( Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy.
As George Dennis wrote, "Vulci is a city whose very name... was scarcely remembered, b ...
,
Nola
Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian wor ...
and
Locri
Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural centre on the Ion ...
.
References
Sources
Artcyclopedia - Berlin PainterPresent and former whereabouts of the vases attributed to the Berlin Painter.
Perseus Project: "Thirty-three Vases whose Painter is 'Berlin Painter'"
*Martin Robertson. ''The Art of Vase-Painting in Classical Athens''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. ().
*Andrew J. Clark, Maya Elston, and Mary Louise Hart. ''Understanding Greek Vases: A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques''. Getty Museum Publications, 2002.
*Donna Carol Kurtz (editor). ''The Berlin Painter: Drawings by Sir John Beazley''. Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology, 1983.
*J. Michael Padgett (editor). ''The Berlin Painter and his World: Athenian Vase-Painting in the Early Fifth Century B.C.'' Princeton/New Haven 2017.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin Painter
5th-century BC deaths
Ancient Greek vase painters
Anonymous artists of antiquity
People from Attica
Year of birth unknown