User:Anatonging/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Bellerophon Painter

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
Greek vase painting is related to Ancient Science and Technology (my course), and, as an art history student, I have an interest in Greek painting. This article is incredibly short, so it could do with some extension.

Evaluate the article
The article is so short (six sentences) that one could say that the entire article consists solely of a lead section. Taken as a lead section, it does a good job. The introductory sentence clearly describes the subject of the article, and the section concisely summarises what is known about the Bellerophon painter. If the article was longer than two paragraphs, it likely would briefly describe all sections present in the hypothetically extended article and it certainly would not present any information that would not be present in the (hypothetically extended) article.

The content of the article is all relevant to the subject. It first introduces the subject, then states the time in which the Bellerophon painter was active, and connects him to a more famous contemporary painter, the Nessos painter. It mentions his two known works, explains where they were found and where they are now, and explains a notable artistic feature of his work. The content is perhaps not up-to-date, as of the two references, one of them (the Beazly article) is from 1956. The briefness of the article suggests that this subject has not been widely studied, so it is possible that there simply is not any other research, but it is from nearly 70 years ago and hopefully there is at least some other information available on this painter. In terms of missing content, the article should make a distinction between the Bellerophon Painter and the Aegina-Bellerophon Painter, whose vase painting is only a fragment and not an entire vase. It would also be beneficial to describe the vases themselves and include pictures if possible. There is one photo available on Wikimedia Commons of the Chimaera vase mentioned in the article. Situating the paintings in the context of paintings of Bellerophon and Chimaeras would also help expand the article and contextualise the painter's work among his contemporaries.

The little information presented in the article means that there is not very much opportunity for the article to be biased to one point of view. However, the sentence, "He was a contemporary of the Nessos Painter, whose importance and artistic class he did not reach," without a citation reads as an unsubstantiated opinion. An explanation of why exactly the Bellerophon Painter is ranked lower than the Nessos Painter and a linked source is needed there.

The two sources are both reliable: both are books, one by John D. Beazly, who specialised in Greek pottery, and the other by John Boardman. Though there are not many sources on the Bellerophon Painter, there are at least a few more sources that mention something specific about him, such as an article by Marilyn Low Schmitt, "Bellerophon and Chimaera in Archaic Greek Art." This would have contextualised the Bellerophon Painter's depiction of the Chimaera and Bellerophon amongst contemporary depictions of the same subject. The sources do not reflect a wide range of authors---an appropriate demographic to include would have been a Greek author, since a Greek scholar studying Ancient Greek culture would theoretically understand their subject intuitively as well as intellectually. However, the few sources and little information available means that it is possible that there is simply no Greek author who deals specifically with the Bellerophon Painter.

Neither of the two sources include links, nor does the Beazly citation include an ISBN, but both of them are still available to purchase. They are both survey books, rather than pieces with specific opinions.

The grammar of this article is good, and the information, such as it is, is clearly presented. There is no discussion on the Talk page, unfortunately, so it is not possible to see the thought process of the article's author. I would recommend that this article be lengthened to reflect the (little) available literature, the comment on the Painter's status be removed or substantiated, a section added to describe his known works in greater detail, and images added.