The Ptoon Painter was an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
vase painter of
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 ...
style active in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
in the middle third of the 6th century BC. His real name is unknown.
The Ptoon Painter predominantly painted ovoid
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 ...
e, spherical '’
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
Siana cups. His most distinguishing features are figural
palmette
The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
s and striking black-and-red patterns on the wings of birds. Along with the
Camtar Painter, he was one of the last painters to paint animal friezes. His work is considered of mediocre quality.
[Boardman: ''Schwarzfigurige Vasenmalerei'', p. 39] He often used dotted rosettes for the backgrounds, a feature generally out of use at the time of his activity. The late date of his works is attested by certain details of his plant motifs and figures, which resemble the work of
Lydos
Lydos (Greek: Λυδός, ''the Lydian'') was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. Active between about 560 and 540 BC, he was the main representative of the '’’Lydos Group’’’. His signature, ό Λυδός, ho Lydos ("the ...
. His most famous work is the
Hearst Hydria, on display in
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 ...
.
Bibliography
*
John D. Beazley: ''Attic Black-figure Vase-painters''. Oxford 1956, p. 83-84.
*
John Boardman: ''Schwarzfigurige Vasen aus Athen. Ein Handbuch'', von Zabern, Mainz 1977 (
Kulturgeschichte der Antiken Welt, Vol 1) , p. 39.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ptoon Painter
Ancient Greek vase painters