The Gorgon Painter was one of the early

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

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 ...

vase painters. He was active between 600 and 580 BC. His

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 ...

, ''

Dinos of the Gorgon Painter The ''Dinos of the Gorgon Painter'' (french: Dinos du Peintre de la Gorgone) is an important example of ancient Greek pottery, produced at Athens around 580 BC. It entered the Louvre's collection in 1861, with the purchase of Giampietro Campana's ...

'', is currently on display in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

and depicts

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus ( /ˈpɜːrsiəs, -sjuːs/; Greek: Περσεύς, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer ...

fleeing the

Gorgon A Gorgon ( /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary, the te ...

s. The Gorgon Painter is considered as a very productive successor of the Nessos Painter. Additionally, in accordance with other Geometric style artists, he arranged his subjects in symmetric patterns. Characteristic of his paintings are flat representations of humans or gods and animals painted in sections around the pottery. Rather than filling blank spaces with geometric patterns, the Gorgon Painter uses the

Animal style Animal style art is an approach to decoration found from China to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period, characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs. The zoomorphic style of decoration was us ...

; depicting real and fantastical animals in friezes around the vases which is considered to be a Corinthian tradition. The better recorded artist

Sophilos Sophilos ( grc, Σώφιλος; active about 590 – 570 BC) was an Attic potter and vase painter in the black-figure style. Sophilos is the oldest Attic vase painter so far to be known by his true name. Fragments of two wine basins ( dino ...

is said to be influenced by the Gorgon Painter, continuing work in the black-figure style and zoomorphic decoration.

Style

Corinthian

The Gorgon Painter is considered to use the Corinthian style, or Animal style, in his pottery. The name comes from its place of popularity,

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

. Not to be mistaken with the

Corinthian order The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

, within Corinthian there are different subsets including what is called Animal style, which is what the Gorgon painter is partially known for; the Animal style is marked by no geometric shapes, but rather larger depictions of animals and plants. Unlike many early depictions of animals, the Animal style does not have the animals facing the same direction, rather they interact with each other and the other elements of the piece. Historians have noted that the Gorgon Painter uses both old myths and depictions alongside newer versions, which is how they have identified him as a singular artist. Dinos do Pintor da Górgona

Themes

Name vase

The Gorgon Painter’s

depicts the Greek myth of

and the Gorgons. This particular myth was quite common and is seen on many pieces of pottery by many different artists, it is considered the most popular myth represented on pottery at this time. This particular depiction shows Perseus fleeing the Gorgons after fulfilling his duty to kill

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

. Although this

dinos In the typology of ancient Greek pottery, the ''dinos'' (plural ''dinoi'') is a mixing bowl or cauldron. ''Dinos'' means "drinking cup," but in modern typology is used (wrongly) for the same shape as a '' lebes'', that is, a bowl with a spherica ...

is the most well-known work attributed to the Gorgon Painter, it is not the only work. The Gorgon Painter often used Gorgons in his works as shown in the image of the plate, as well as animals rather than established geometric shapes.

References/Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Painter, Gorgon Ancient Greek vase painters Artists of ancient Attica 6th-century BC Greek people Anonymous artists of antiquity