Euphronios

This led to an intensive study of painters' signatures, and by the late 19th century, scholars began to compile stylistic compendia.

He systematically described and catalogued thousands of Attic black-figure and red-figure vases and sherds, using the methods of the art historian Giovanni Morelli for the study of paintings.

To render the depictions of human anatomy more plastic and realistic, he introduced the relief line and the use of diluted clay slip.

Depending on how it is applied, the slip can acquire a range of colours between light yellow and dark brown during firing, thus multiplying the stylistic possibilities available to the artist.

For example, a chalice krater in the Antikensammlung Berlin, depicting young men exercising in the palaistra, is often counted among his later works due to the vase shape.

Nonetheless, it seems that—in spite of the presence of some advanced methods (e.g. careful representation of musculature, use of the relief line)—the krater must be dated to an earlier phase, since it borrows some stylistic motifs from black-figure vase painting.

These motifs include an ivy garland below the mouth, the fairly small image format, and the stylistic similarity to the work of Oltos.

Around 510 BC, probably seeking new media for his compositions, Euphronios entered the workshop of Euxitheos, a potter who was similarly engaged in experimenting with form and decor in his own work.

The stylistic development of Euphronios's work during this period, during which both painter and potter attempted bold and influential experiments, permits a reconstruction of its chronological sequence with some certainty.

A partially preserved chalice krater from this period (Louvre G 110) is indicative of the degree to which Euphronios was aware of the influence of his artistic innovations.

The front of the chalice shows a classic scene that he had already painted on a bowl around 520 BC : the fight between Heracles and the Nemean Lion.

The back, however, depicts a bold and innovative double composition : above, a komos scene, with the participants of the dance drawn in extreme physical postures, and below, a figure viewed from behind, arms leaning backwards.

The piece is a characteristic example of the Pioneer Group's work and shows how a single vase could make an individual contribution to the development of the form.

Similarly, a somewhat younger painter, Smikros, probably a pupil of Euphronios, created some very successful early works that directly plagiarised his master.

During the restoration of the vase, an original outline sketch was found, showing that Euphronios initially had difficulties in depicting the dying giant's outstretched arm, but managed to overcome them while painting the scene.

The ensemble is flanked by two Trojan warriors staring straight ahead, apparently oblivious of the action that takes place between them.

But the krater marks the peak of the artist's abilities not only in pictorial terms; the vase also represents a new achievement in the development of the red-figure style.

The shape of the chalice krater had already been developed during the black-figure phase by the potter and painter Exekias, but Euxitheos's vase displays further innovations created specifically for the red-figure technique.

By painting the handles, foot and lower body of the vase black, the space available for red-figure depictions is strictly limited.

This explicitly contemporary scene, depicting a group of anonymous youths arming themselves for war, is emblematic of the new realism in content as well as form which Euphronios brought to the red-figure technique.

Medici subsequently sold the krater to American dealer Robert E. Hecht, who in turn negotiated its sale for US$1 million to the Metropolitan Museum, New York City, where it went on display from 1972.

Over the next thirty years, a series of press investigations and a lengthy and extensive trans-national criminal investigation led by Italian authorities eventually smashed the smuggling ring, resulting in numerous prosecutions (including Medici, Hecht and Getty Museum curator Marion True), and the return to Italy of scores of looted antiquities illegally obtained by the Metropolitan, the Getty and other institutions.

After lengthy negotiations, the Euphronios krater was formally returned to Italian ownership in February 2006, but remained on display as a loan to the Metropolitan Museum until its highly publicised repatriation to Italy in January 2008.

It is likely that the reverse, as was the norm for this vase shape, depicted an athletic competition in one of the sports that formed part of the Panathenaic Games.

As the piece is similar to Euphronios's work not only in terms of motif but also of artistic style, Beazley hesitantly ascribed it to the master.

The problem is that at this point, the style and skills of Smikros had grown very similar to those of his teacher, making it difficult to distinguish their works.

It is not unusual in the history of Greek pottery and vase painting for artists to be active in both fields; several other painters from the Pioneer Group, such as Phintias and Euthymides are also known to have been potters.