Skythes (Greek:Σκύθης,theScythian) was anAtticblack-figure[1] andred-figure vase painter active between about 520 and 505 BC.
Modern scholarship considers Skythes as a kind of artistic loner, whose work cannot easily be categorised among the known workshops and groups. He signed four knownkylikes. Further, anotherca. twentykylikes and twodinos stands are attributed to him on the basis of stylistic analysis. His early works were created a short time after the invention of the red-figure technique. On threebilingual works he demonstrates his skill in the older black-figure style. Unusually, they feature red-figure paintings on the interior and on the outside black-figure on coral-red ground. Inside and outside each bear only one figure. He belonged to the first generation of vase painters to specialise in cups.
His figural images depict people in an exaggerated ugliness or brutishness, casting him, much in contrast to the norms then prevailing in Greek art, as a comedian, even asatirist. Especially his faces reflect anoutré sense of humour. Perhaps this indicates, as does his name, that he was not a nativeAthenian, although he was well aware of the city's artistic repertoire. Although he was probably not aScythian, the (self-chosen) nickname appears to express a certain extravagance or individualism. Twopinakes with black-figure paint that were found theAthenian Acropolis bear the signature of a Skythes. It is assumed that they are also by him.
His vases occasionally bear thekalos inscriptionnEpilykos. ThePedieus Painter uses the same name, which has led some scholars to suggest that he is identical with Skythes towards the end of his career. On a vase byPhintias, the sameEpilykos is depicted as an athlete. For some time, such vases were falsely ascribed to a non-existent painter Epilykos. The use of the name classifies Skythes as a member of theEpilykos Class.
Media related toSkythes at Wikimedia Commons
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
