Piraeus Painter

The Piraeus Painter was one of the first Attic black-figure vase painters. He was active between 630 and 600 BC.
The Piraeus Painter was a contemporary of the Nessos Painter, whose importance and artistic class he did not reach. His name vase, a neck amphora in Athens, National [Archaeological Museum of Athens|National Archaeological Museum] 353, was found at Piraeus. The most noteworthy feature of that vase is the snout of the depicted lion, stylised into the shape of a volute. Images of lions were quite popular at the time, as in the works of the Lion Painter and the Gorgon Painter. Except his animal figures, which display a safe intuition for design and proportions, his other figures appear very stiff and awkward.