Sisyphus Painter

The Sisyphus Painter was an Apulian vase painter. His works are dated in the last two decades of the 5th century BC and the beginning of the 4th century BC.

The Sisyphus Painter, who can be named only with a Notnamen because the real name is unknown, is one of the most influential painters of the Apulian vase painting and thus the entire South Italian vase painting. He received his Notnamen due to the inscription on a heart shaped gift that keeps a young man on one of his Volutenkratere in a wedding presentation. He stands in the tradition of the dancing girl painter in Berlin, as its workshop comrade he is considered later. Arthur D. Trendall called the Sisyphus Painter as the " most preeminent artists of Tarentum school at all ." The quality of his work, however, is fluctuating. Especially on larger vases he shows himself a master of head representations, which he often shows in three-quarter view.

In early work includes additional bells craters, which are usually painted with three figures. Mainly shows the Sisyphus Painter everyday scenes or images from the Dionysian area. On the back it shows always two or three draped youths. In his later time, the quality of the work diminishes, many display appear really stereotypical. The faces are round and have a coarser. The subjects of the pictures are uninspired to see are almost always young men, warriors and women.

When Sisyphus Painter an artistic relationship is presumed to Attic vase painters dwarfs and Kodros painter. In addition, parallels to the work of the Polion can find. The Sisyphus Painter is at the beginning of the subsequent main currents of Apulian vase painting, the one of style, are painted in the rather smaller vessels with simple character combinations (simple style), on the other hand, in the grave cult scenes on large vases ( richer style) shown be. For radius of the painter are several other important artists, including the Hearst painter. The Tarporley Painter is his pupil and successor in his workshop.