The Codrus Painter
Iconography and Reception of Athenian Vases in the Age of Pericles
Publication Year: 2011
The Codrus Painter was a painter of cups and vases in fifth-century B.C.E. Athens with a distinctive style; he is named after Codrus, a legendary Athenian king depicted on one of his most characteristic vases. He was active as an artist during the rule of Pericles, as the Parthenon was built and then as the troubled times of the Peloponnesian War began. In contrast to the work of fellow artists of his day, the vases of the Codrus Painter appear to have been created almost exclusively for export to markets outside Athens and Greece, especially to the Etruscans in central Italy and to points further west.
Amalia Avramidou offers a thoroughly researched, amply illustrated study of the Codrus Painter that also comments on the mythology, religion, arts, athletics, and daily life of Greece depicted on his vases. She evaluates his style and the defining characteristics of his own hand and of the minor painters associated with him. Examining the subject matter, figure types, and motifs on the vases, she compares them with sculptural works produced during the same period. Avramidou’s iconographic analysis not only encompasses the cultural milieu of the Athenian metropolis, but also offers an original and intriguing perspective on the adoption, meaning, and use of imported Attic vases among the Etruscans.
Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
Contents
Illustrations
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pp. vii-ix
Preface
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pp. xi-xii
It was a seminar on autochthony held by Professors Marcel Detienne and Alan Shapiro at Johns Hopkins University that initially inspired me to examine the work of the Codrus Painter and to become better acquainted with his repertory, style, and preferred export markets. Little did I know then that the iconographic core ...
Acknowledgments
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pp. xiii-
During this wonderful journey, I had the privilege of meeting many scholars from all over the world who kindly provided me with photographs, permissions, and information essential for the completion of my dissertation and the publication of this book. I am indebted to them all. ...
Ch.1: Introduction
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pp. 3-6
The Codrus Painter is one of the most distinctive Athenian cup- painters of the second half of the fi fth century. Sir John Beazley, the guru of Attic vase painting, named him after the mythical Athenian king Codrus, depicted on one of the artist's cups in Bologna (cat. 1, pl. 1a).1 ...
Ch.2: Defining the Style of the Codrus Painter
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pp. 7-16
Pottery is the most concrete and widely diff used remnant of antiquity, and its investigation invites several disciplines and approaches. The study of Attic figured pottery, moreover, offers particularly favorable conditions, allowing investigators to concentrate not only on the object but also on the human agents behind it: the craftsmen who ...
Ch.3: Reconsidering Some Attributions
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pp. 17-21
In this chapter I revisit four attributions to the Codrus Painter and propose different degrees of proximity to his style for these vases. In addition, a cup once in the Basel Market (cat. 107) that has been considered a work by the Codrus Painter is here disassociated from him. ...
Ch.4: Shapes, Style, and Chronology
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pp. 22-27
Because the present study concentrates on matters of iconography and reception, here I offer only an overview of shapes decorated by the Codrus Painter and his Circle. Lezzi-Hafter has examined the traditions behind the pottery workshop of the Eretria Painter and his Circle (the EKDN workshop) and used as comparanda cups by the ...
Ch.5: The Codrus Painter and His Contemporaries
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pp. 28-30
A juxtaposition of the Codrus Painter with his contemporaries reveals the intricate network of influences among vase-painters and helps to place our painter and his Circle in the larger context of the Athenian kerameikos during the second half of the fifth century BCE.1 In particular, we will consider the work of three ...
Ch.6: Mythological Subjects
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pp. 31-42
The Codrus Painter and his Circle produced more than ten cups representing heroes in well- known episodes or nameless warriors departing for a campaign. 1 The warriors are sometimes given heroic status by the proud display of their nudity and by association with heroic scenes; most figures remain unidentified, shown either fighting or, more often, making a libation with the ...
Ch.7: Divine Assemblies
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pp. 43-46
The Divine Banquet cup by the Codrus Painter was found in Vulci and is now housed in the British Museum (cat. 3, pl. 10).1 It depicts five divine couples and two young males, all identified by inscriptions. Side A shows Amphitrite and Poseidon, Hera and Zeus, with Ganymede at the far right (pl. 10a). A column between the two couches almost ...
Ch.8: Other Mythological Subjects
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pp. 47-51
One of the less well known cups by the Codrus Painter was found in the Etruscan necropolis of Spina (cat. 18, pl. 14).1 The tondo is decorated with an interesting pair of marine figures: Poseidon and Triton (pl. 14a). Poseidon, wearing a mantle and a wreath on his long hair, leans against his trident as he converses with his son, Triton.2 The ...
Ch.9: Dionysiac Subjects
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pp. 52-56
Representations of symposia, drinking, and merrymaking abound in Attic vase painting, along with a variety of episodes in which Dionysos and his thiasos play protagonistic roles. Beazley attributed to the Codrus Painter five cups with scenes related to the wine god and his entourage or inspired by satyr plays. Of these ...
Ch.10: Departure Scenes and Hoplite Representations
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pp. 57-60
Like many vase- painters of the second half of the fifth century BCE, the Codrus Painter and his Circle decorated a substantial number of vases with generic scenes. Most involve athletes and youths in conversation (see chapter 11); others depict scenes of warriors departing. In the absence of names and attributes, it is ...
Ch.11: Depictions of Youths and Athletes
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pp. 61-65
Athletic competitions were included in the program of many festivals in Athens, the most famous being the Panathenaic Games, which were modeled after the games in the Panhellenic sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia and heavily influenced by earlier funerary games celebrated in honor of heroes or the heroized dead.1 The belief that athletic ...
Ch.12: The Codrus Painter and the Etruscan Market
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pp. 66-70
The distribution of the vases by the Codrus Painter and his Circle followed routes established during the sixth century by Attic traders who supplied the Etruscan market with products of the Athenian kerameikos. The so-called Tyrrhenian amphoras and the vases produced by Nikosthenes' workshop enjoyed great popularity ...
Ch.13: Late Fifth-Century Attic Sculpture and the Codrus Painter
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pp. 71-82
During the second half of the fifth century BCE, the city of Athens became under Pericles' government a major political power and an affluent hub of commerce. Visitors and citizens alike were witnesses to the grand- scale Periclean plan to glorify Athens through a monumental display of wealth and an overwhelming ...
Ch.14: Overview of the Work of the Codrus Painter
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pp. 83-84
The Codrus Painter was a distinctive Athenian vase-painter of the second half of the fifth century BCE. His drawing, accurate and detailed in his early works, gradually decreased in vivacity and precision. A comparison with his contemporaries shows that he has some affinities with the Eretria Painter, a significant impact ...
Appendix: Kalos Names and Other Inscriptions
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pp. 85-86
Catalogue
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pp. 87-96
Plates
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pp. 97-190
set 1-9
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pp. 99-111
set 10-19
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pp. 112-120
set 20-29
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pp. 121-135
set 30-39
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pp. 136-146
set 40-49
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pp. 147-156
set 50-59
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pp. 157-168
set 60-69
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pp. 169-174
set 70-79
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pp. 175-182
set 80-89
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pp. 183-188
set 90
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pp. 189-190
Notes
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pp. 191-216
Bibliography
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pp. 217-228
Index
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pp. 229-237
Wisconsin Studies in Classics
E-ISBN-13: 9780299247836
Print-ISBN-13: 9780299247805
Page Count: 236
Publication Year: 2011
