Amasis Painter. The Amasis Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter who worked in the black-figure technique.
He owes his name to the signature of the potter Amasis, who signed 12 works painted by the same hand. At the time of the exhibition, The Amasis Painter and His World, 132 vases had been attributed to this artist.
As with any of the artisans working during the sixth century BC, very little is understood about the Amasis Painter's life or personality. Scholars do know that Amasis is a Greek version of an Egyptian name, more specifically of a contemporary Egyptian king, leading some to believe that the Amasis Painter, or at least the potter Amasis, may have been a foreigner, originally from Egypt.
Other possibilities include that he was an Athenian with an Egyptian name, which is highly plausible, given close trade relations between Greece and Egypt, or that his signed name was a nickname given to him by his contemporaries due to some Egyptian characteristic, an example being the alabastron shape. Exekias's use of the label Amasos for an illustration of an Ethiopian has no clear explanation, but he is generally thought to have been poking fun at Amasis as a contemporary professional rival.
Despite the possibility of his Egyptian origin, it is generally agreed by scholars that the Amasis Painter learned his trade in Athens, most likely with the Heidelberg Painter. This painter worked arou
He owes his name to the signature of the potter Amasis, who signed 12 works painted by the same hand. At the time of the exhibition, The Amasis Painter and His World, 132 vases had been attributed to this artist.
As with any of the artisans working during the sixth century BC, very little is understood about the Amasis Painter's life or personality. Scholars do know that Amasis is a Greek version of an Egyptian name, more specifically of a contemporary Egyptian king, leading some to believe that the Amasis Painter, or at least the potter Amasis, may have been a foreigner, originally from Egypt.
Other possibilities include that he was an Athenian with an Egyptian name, which is highly plausible, given close trade relations between Greece and Egypt, or that his signed name was a nickname given to him by his contemporaries due to some Egyptian characteristic, an example being the alabastron shape. Exekias's use of the label Amasos for an illustration of an Ethiopian has no clear explanation, but he is generally thought to have been poking fun at Amasis as a contemporary professional rival.
Despite the possibility of his Egyptian origin, it is generally agreed by scholars that the Amasis Painter learned his trade in Athens, most likely with the Heidelberg Painter. This painter worked arou
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