Athena by the Niobid Painter

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A painting of Athena, by the Niobid Painter, on a calyx crater in the Louvre


Athena, by the Niobid Painter, on a calyx crater in the Louvre

Greek, c. 460-450 BCE


This is from "A Handbook of Greek Art" by G. M. A. Richter. The text says: "In the period of the early free style (c. 475-450 B.C.) a new spirit is observable in vase-painting as in the other branches of Greek art. Several trends can be distinguished. Some artists, evidently inspired by the murals of Polygnotos and his associates, produced ambitious compositions on large vases with figures placed on different levels on hilly landscapes. Combats of Lapiths and Centaurs and of Greeks and Amazons are favourite themes. Foremost among these artists is the NIOBID PAINTER, who decorated a magnificant calyx crater in the Louvre with the Argonauts and the Death of the Niobids. Statuesque poses (like this one) and contorted attitudes appear side by side on these vases, as they do in the sculpture of the time."


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