Recreating a Masterpiece: In Dialogue with the Berlin Painter

Between January and June 2025, our team worked on the reproduction of one of the most iconic vessels of ancient Greek vase painting: the name-piece of the Berlin Painter. This red-figure amphora, now in the Antikensammlung in Berlin, shows a poised Hermes in motion, facing a dancing satyr—an image of balance, grace, and contrast.

The project began with a request from a special client in the United States. His trust, thoughtful messages, and quiet encouragement gave us more than technical motivation. Through our correspondence, his presence became part of the workshop—forming a bridge between our hands and the guiding eye of the Berlin Painter himself.

Through careful drawing, brushwork, and close observation, we gradually entered a kind of dialogue—not only with our client, but with the ancient painter. His restraint, his economy of line, the expressive silence between forms—these became lessons we absorbed anew.

This amphora is more than a reproduction. It reflects a silent collaboration across time: the painter in 5th-century BC Athens, the collector in 21st-century America, and our team here in Mets (Athens, Pangrati). A reminder that craftsmanship—when faithful to its source—can transcend time, place, and language.

We share this as our July highlight: a moment when ancient and modern hands met through clay, pigment, and trust.