Psiax was an Attic vase painter of the transitional period between 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 ...

and

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 ...

styles. His works date to ''circa'' 525 to 505 BC and comprise about 60 surviving vases, two of which bear his signature. Initially he was allocated the name "Menon Painter" by

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 ...

. Only later was it realised that the artist was identical with the painters signing as "Psiax". Psiax collaborated with the potters Hilinos, Menon, Andokides and Nikosthenes. While he started as a painter in the black-figure technique, he played a major role in the early development of red-figure, which was invented in the workshop of Andokides. The black-figure Antimenes Painter, working for the same workshop, was stylistically close to Psiax; Beazley described the two as "brothers". Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering his chronological position, Psiax was a master of

bilingual vase painting Bilingual vase painting is a special form of ancient Greek vase painting. The term, derived from linguistics, is essentially a metaphorical one; it describes vases that are painted both in the black-figure and in the red-figure techniques. It also ...

. Formerly called the Menon Painter, after the potter’s signature on a red-figure amphora (Philadelphia, U. PA, Mus., 5349), he signed two red-figure '' alabastra'' as painter, both of which bear the signature of the potter Hilinos arlsruhe, Bad. Landesmus., 242 (B 120) and Odessa, A. Mus. Psiax also knew the

white ground technique White-ground technique is a style of white ancient Greek pottery and the painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica, dated to about 500 BC. It was especially associated with vases made for ritua ...

, as well as coral red pottery techniques.The Getty Museum - Biography of Psiax
''A vase-painter working in Athens in the late 500s B.C., Psiax is known from his signature on several surviving vases. A versatile painter, Psiax worked in every pottery technique in use at that time: black-figure, red-figure, white-ground, coral red, and Six's technique. He decorated the complete range of Greek vase shapes, both large and small, favoring Dionysiac scenes and the myths of Herakles. Most importantly, Psiax was an innovator. Two of his vases were signed by the potter Andokides, showing that Psiax worked in the shop where the red-figure technique was probably invented. He is also the first vase-painter interested in showing the human body in complex poses, a trait subsequently developed by the so-called Pioneers, at least one of whom, Euphronios, appears to have been Psiax's pupil.'' His signature is only known from two red-figure ''alabastra'' at

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and Odessa, both also signed by the potter Hilinos. Three of the vases by him are signed by the potter Andokides. The fact that he painted '' kyathoi'' and used the Six's technique indicates that he also collaborated with Nikosthenes. In his early phase, Epiktetos imitated Psiax. The Pioneers

Euphronios Euphronios ( el, Εὐφρόνιος; c. 535 – after 470 BC) was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter, active in Athens in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. As part of the so-called "Pioneer Group," (a modern name given to a group ...

and Phintias were taught by Psiax. Psiax mostly painted smaller vessels, appropriate to his fine painting style. Nevertheless, larger vases by him are also known, such as amphorae, ''

hydria The hydria ( el, ὑδρία; plural hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped o ...

i'' and calyx kraters. On those, too, his figures are not so much powerful and lively but rather dignified and restrained. Although he experimented with the possibilities offered by the new technique (perspective), he concentrated more on the fine detail and decorative effect typical of Late Archaic art. He did not limit his activity to black-figure or red-figure but also experimented with black figures on white or coral-red ground and with the Six Technique. His choice of subjects is conventional; arguably with a preference for scenes with horses and archers.

Works (selection)

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

, Museo :black-figure belly amphora *

, Badisches Landesmuseum :B 120 red-figure ''

alabastron An alabastron or alabastrum (plural: ''alabastra'' or ''alabastrons''; from the Greek ) is a small type of pottery or glass vessel used for holding oil, especially perfume or massage oils. They originated around the 11th century BC in ancien ...

'' (signed; potter: Hilinos) *

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

:1980.10-29.1 (formerly

Castle Ashby Castle Ashby is the name of a civil parish, an estate village and an English country house in rural Northamptonshire. Historically the village was set up to service the needs of Castle Ashby House, the seat of the Marquess of Northampton. The v ...

) black-figure

neck amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

(potter: Andokides) ::Neck front:

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

between two

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...

s, back: Warrior in chariot in frontal perspective between two youth

*

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, National Archaeological Museum of Spain :11008 (L 63) bilingual belly amphora (potter: Andokides) ::Front:

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

with '' kithara'' between

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

Leto In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto (; grc-gre, Λητώ , ''Lētṓ'', or , ''Lātṓ'' in Doric Greek) is a goddess and the mother of Apollo, the god of music, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.Hesiod, ''Theogony'404–409/ref> ...

and Ares; back: Dionysos with ''

kantharos A ''kantharos'' ( grc, κάνθαρος) or cantharus is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in Greek pottery, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In i ...

'' between satyrs and maenad

* Malibu, California, Malibu,

J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

:86.AE.278 red-figure cu

:90.AE.122 black-figure '' mastos'

*

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

:63.11.6 red-figure belly amphora with black-figure lip ::Front: fight over the tripod, back: Dionysos with ''kantharos'' between maenad and satyr (Lip: Psiax, main images: Andokides Painter

* Odessa, Archaeological Museum :266602 red-figure ''alabastron'' (signed; potter: Hilinos) *

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, University Museum :5349 red-figure belly amphora (potter: Menon)

Bibliography

: ''Attic Black-figure Vase-painters''. Oxford 1956, p. 292-295. 692. *John Beazley: ''Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters'', 2nd. ed. Oxford 1963, p. 6-9. *John Beazley: ''Paralipomena. Additions to Attic black-figure vase-painters and to Attic red-figure vase-painters'', Oxford 1971, p. *S. Patitucci Uggeri: ''Kylix di Psiax in una collezione ticinese'', in: Numismatica e antichità classiche. Quaderni ticinesi 1, 1972, p. 33-60. *Beth Cohen: ''Attic Bilingual Vases and their Painters'', New York 1978, p. 194-239. 276-287. *Joan R. Mertens: ''Some new vases by Psiax'', in: Antike Kunst 22, 1979, p. 22-37. *B. Jeske, C. Stein: ''Eine frührotfigurige Hydria des Psiax'', in: Hefte des Archäologischen Seminars der Universität Bern 8, 1982, p. 5-20. *S. Bonomi: ''Un nuovo frammento a figure nere di Psiax del Museo di Adria'', in: Kotinos. Festschrift für Erika Simon, Mainz 1992, p. 162-164. *P. Pelletier-Hornby: ''Deux aspects de Psiax dans la Collection Dutuit du Petit Palais (Musée des beaux-arts de la ville de Paris)'', in: Revue du Louvre 50, 2000, No. 4, p. 27-37. *Beth Cohen: ''Psiax'', in: Künstlerlexikon der Antike, Vol. 2, 2004, p. 325-326.

References

Sources

The Getty Museum - Biography of Psiax

External links

Getty-Museum
{{Authority control 6th-century BC deaths Ancient Greek vase painters 6th-century BC Athenians Year of birth unknown