Group E

The group E , also called E group, was a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style . It is dated between 560 and 540 BC. Dated.

Athena is born from the head of Zeus , amphora, third quarter of the 6th century BC Chr., Louvre F 32

Group E - the E stands for Exekias - is considered to be relatively closed in itself. It is “the breeding ground from which the art of Exekias arises”. However, it is to be set earlier than most of the works of Exekias. Although most of the vases were only painted by one artist, it can be assumed that other painters also belonged to the group. Group E is considered the most important anonymous group of Attic vase painters, as they created high-quality works on the one hand, and were the first artists to break with the artistic tradition of the Art of Lydos and break new ground on the other .

Heracles fighting Geryoneus, amphora around 540 BC Chr., Louvre F 55

The predominant vessel shape that the Group E artists painted were type A abdominal amphorae . Old types such as egg-shaped neck amphoras have been completely abandoned , and columnar craters have been almost completely abandoned. Small types of vessels were hardly painted by the group. A neck amphora shape with handle ornaments was new. Even before he himself appeared as a painter, Exekias made two of the group's traditional vases. They are the only vases in the group with a potter's signature.

The group's drawings have neither the monumentality of the previous Lydos nor the subsequent Exekias. Animal friezes no longer exist in Group E. In terms of content, the same themes are repeated over and over again: Heracles with the lion or with Geryoneus or Theseus with the Minotaur . During the second half of the 6th century BC, this type became more and more popular. The favorite inscriptions , which were used here for the first time, were also a significant innovation . The first so honored Ephebe was a certain Stesias .

literature

John D. Beazley : Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters , Oxford 1956, pp. 133-143.
John Boardman : Black-Figure Vases from Athens. A handbook (= cultural history of the ancient world . Vol. 1). Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1977, ISBN 3-8053-0233-9 , p. 62.
Heide Mommsen : E-Gruppe , in Der Neue Pauly Vol. 3 (1997), Sp. 859f.

Web links

Commons : Group E - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

credentials

^ John Boardman: Black-Figure Vases from Athens. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1977, p. 62.

[1] John Boardman: Black-Figure Vases from Athens. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1977, p. 62.