Euthymides

Euthymides (Template:Langx; Template:Floruit) was an ancient Athenian potter and painter of vases. He was a member of the art movement later known as the Pioneer Group for their exploration of the new decorative style known as red-figure pottery. His works are known for their innovative use of foreshortening, and include the Revellers Vase, inscribed with a taunting message addressed to his fellow painter and rival Euphronios.

Euthymides's father was named Pollias, and may have been a noted Athenian sculptor by the same name. He was closely connected to the other artists of the Pioneer Group, including Euphronios and Phintias, whose work was characterised by a detailed study of anatomy and the use of dynamic poses for human figures. He signed eight vessels which survive, identifying himself both as a potter and as a painter, and painted vases in a variety of shapes. He may have taught or influenced other vase painters, such as his fellow Pioneer Smikros, the Berlin Painter, and the Kleophrades Painter.

Background

Euthymides was active as an artist between around 515 and 500 BCE.Template:Sfn He signed three of his vases with his patronymic, showing that his father was named Pollias.Template:Sfn Many of the fathers whose names were signed by Athenian vase painters were themselves artists, and it is sometimes argued that signing a patronymic implied that the father was also an artist or the signing artist's teacher.Template:Sfn Jenifer Neils identifies Euthymides's father with the sculptor named Pollias, who was a noted artist in the late sixth century, dedicated several sculptures on the Acropolis, and may have been the author of an artistic treatise.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn This would have made Euthymides of a higher social standing than most Athenian potters.Template:Sfn Nigel Spivey has conjectured that Euthymides may have been the elder brother of Euphronios, also a vase painter.Template:Sfn Martin Robertson, in contrast, suggests that Euthymides may have been a younger apprentice of Euphronios.Template:Sfn

Artistic career

Black and white image: three bearded men dance energetically, holding wine-cups.

The dancers on the Revellers Vase: "as never Euphronios!" () can be read down the left-hand side

Euthymides, along with other painters like Euphronios and Phintias, is known as a member of the Pioneer Group.Template:Sfn One Template:Transliteration, painted by Phintias, shows a courtesan (Template:Transliteration) trying to hit a beardless Euthymides with the dregs of a cup of wine, with the caption "this one's for you, beautiful Euthymides!" (; Template:Transliteration).Template:Sfnm The Pioneer Group are so named for their experimentation within the newly invented red-figure style.Template:Sfn In red-figure, the dark slip painted onto the vase was applied to the background, leaving the foreground rendered by the negative space in the natural colour of the clay. This contrasted with the earlier black-figure technique, where the slip was used to paint the figures, and small details picked out by scratching it away.Template:Sfn The work of the Pioneer Group was characterised by its interest in human anatomy and the use of dynamic, space-filling poses.Template:Sfn Stylistically, Euphronios favoured simple compositions, bold figures, and the innovative use of foreshortening,Template:Sfn while his painting technique used washes and variations in line weight to suggest the action of gravity upon clothing.Template:Sfn

Euthymides was a rival of his fellow Athenian Euphronios, and one of his signed amphorae (the Revellers Vase) is inscribed with "As never Euphronios" (; Template:Transliteration).Template:Sfn Both painters were familiar with each other's work,Template:Sfn and the inscription is generally interpreted as a taunt or challenge to Euphronios.Template:Sfn Gisela Richter specifically interpreted it as a reference to Euthymides's use of three-quarter views, in contrast with the front-on or side-on perspective universal in Euphronios's work.Template:Sfn However, it has also been interpreted as claiming that Euphronios had never taken part in a Template:Transliteration (a drunken ritual dance depicted on the vase), perhaps because this was an aristocratic activity and Euphronios was of comparatively low social origin.Template:Sfn

Eight vessels signed by Euthymides survive: seven that he painted, and one which he made but did not paint.Template:Sfn Of these, he identifies himself as the painter on five, as the potter on two, and as both of these on one.Template:Sfn He was the painter of the Revelers Vase, an amphora depicting three men partying. They are presumably drunk; one of them is holding a Template:Transliteration, a large drinking vessel.Template:Sfn He may also have painted a terracotta plaque, found on the Acropolis, showing a running warrior.Template:Sfn Most of his works are on Type A amphorae and , though he also painted three neck amphorae (including one with innovative twisted handles), a Template:Transliteration, a volute krater, a cylindrical stand, a plate and two cups.Template:Sfn

An unsigned two-handled amphora (Boston 63.1515) is attributed to the "circle of Euthymides".Template:Refn Eva C. Keuls names Smikros, another painter of the Pioneer Group, as a disciple or apprentice of his.Template:Sfn He is also believed to have been the teacher of another Athenian red-figure vase painter, the Kleophrades Painter,Template:Sfn and possibly that of the Berlin Painter.Template:Sfn