( fl second half of the 6th century BC). Greek vase painter. This Attic Black-figure artist’s name derives from the distinctive mannered appearance of his figures. Most of the 132 vases attributed to him are well preserved due to having been buried in Etruscan tombs. Indeed, almost all were apparently produced for export, which perhaps partly explains his idiosyncratic style. Black-figure work tends naturally towards formalism, as is apparent in little-master cups and works by the AMASIS PAINTER. However, the Affecter’s emphasis on the decorative effects created by his silhouette figures is unique, and contrasts with the general trend of his time towards stressing the narrative element in paintings. His compositions involve small-headed figures in loose drapery spattered with ornamental dots, whose long limbs create angular gestures and poses. The themes are highly repetitive (e.g. scenes of pederastic pursuit, a God Enthroned with Hermes, Soldiers Arming, Dionysos and his Followers, Theseus and the Minotaur, Men on Horseback), and he produced few interesting mythological scenes. The Affecter specialized in decorating amphorae but chose unconventional types, again apparently in a search for stylistic effect. Both as potter of his own vessels and as painter he employed old-fashioned forms (e.g. ovoid neck amphorae, low picture friezes, figures on the necks, double rays above the foot) but combined them imaginatively with inventions of his own. With his meticulous draughtsmanship he did achieve true masterpieces, of old-fashioned but incontestable elegance.

Part of the Vase painters family

• Affecter
  • Greece, ancient, §V, 5(ii)(c): Black-figure pottery: Attic, c 560–c 520 BC