Sisyphus Painter

His conventional name is derived from the inscription on the heart-shaped gift held by a youth as part of the depiction of a wedding on one of his volute kraters.

Arthur Dale Trendall described the Sisyphus Painter as "probably the dominant artist of the Taras School".

Especially on larger vases he showed his quality as a painter of heads, often depicted in a three-quarter profile.

Towards the later phase of his activity, the quality of his work deteriorated, many of his late paintings appear very stereotypical, the faces rounder, their features coarser.

The Sisyphus Painter stands at the starting point of both main currents of later Apulian vase painting: on the one hand the "Plain Style", with simple figural compositions on smaller vessels, on the other hand the "Ornate Style" with large vases depicting scenes connected with funerary rituals and grave cult.

Bell krater with the depiction of a young horseman being crowned by Nike . Circa 420 BC. Paris , Louvre .
Amazonomachy on a volute krater , circa 410/400 BC. London , British Museum .
Arrival or departure of a young warrior or hero, volute krater , circa 410/400 BC. London , British Museum .