Smikros ( English transliteration: Small) 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 who flourished in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

between 510 and 500 BCE. He was active in the workshop of the

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 ...

. Beside Euphronios, Euthymides, Hypsis and the Dikaios painter, Smikros was one of the most important representatives of the so-called

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 ...

of Athenian

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 vas ...

vase painting. There are three signed vases from Smikros.

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 ...

called him an imitator of Euphronios. It is possible that Smikros cooperated in some late and not completely successful vases, which are assigned to Euphronios. On one

psykter A psykter (in Greek ψυκτήρ "cooler") is a type of Greek vase that is characterized by a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot. It was used as a wine cooler, and specifically as part of the elite sympotic set in the ancient Greek symposium. ...

in the Hermitage (St Petersburg), Euphronios has a female figure with the inscription ''Smikra'' provided, which could be understood to be a reference to his pupil. Another

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 ...

seems to belong to Smikros, which suggests possibly a co-operation between both artists. Smikros might also have decorated another

stamnos A stamnos (plural stamnoi) is a type of Greek pottery used to store liquids. Stamnoi had a foot, wide mouths, lids and handles on their shoulders. The earliest known examples come from archaic Archaic is a period of time preceding a designat ...

and two pelikai assigned to him. Beazley called Smikros a bad draughtsman. This is, however, only in comparison with the other members of the Pioneer Group. At that time, red figure vase painting was still in its infancy and the pioneers were still vigorously experimenting. A lack of ingenuity with the picture composition can be seen. His designs are precise, yet become inaccurate in his representation of such details as ears, fingers and dress.

References

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