Bilingual vase painting

History

Bilingual vase painting was almost entirely restricted to belly amphorae of type B and to eye-cups. In some cases, either side of an amphora bore a depiction of the same motif, one in black-figure, the other in red-figure (e.g. on the belly amphora by the Andokides Painter, Munich 2301). Eye-cups usually feature a black-figure image on the interior, and red-figure motifs on the external surface. An exception to this is a kylix by the Andokides Painter in Palermo, on which the exterior is painted half in black-figure and half in red-figure. Apart from the Andokides Painter, bilingual works were produced primarily by Psiax (especially belly amphorae), as well as by Epiktetos and Oltos (eye-cups). Usually, both paintings (in both styles) on one vase are produced by the same artist. In some cases, however, this is controversial. This applies especially to the Andokides Painter, whose black-figure work is ascribed by some scholars to the Lysippides Painter, who, in turn, is sometimes seen as identical with the Andokides Painter.