Polygnotos on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Polygnotus ( el, Πολύγνωτος ''Polygnotos'') was an
During the time of
10.25–31
/ref> The foundations of the building have been recovered in the course of the French excavations at Delphi. From this evidence, some archaeologists have tried to reconstruct the paintings, other than their colours. The figures were detached and seldom overlapping, ranged in two or three rows one above another; and the farther were not smaller nor dimmer than the nearer. Therefore, it seems that the paintings of this time were executed on almost precisely the same plan as contemporary sculptural reliefs. Polygnotus employed only a few simple colours. Technically his art was primitive. His excellence lay in the beauty of his drawing of individual figures, especially in the "ethical" and ideal character of his art. A contemporary and perhaps teacher of Pheidias, Polygnotus had the same grand manner. Simplicity, which was almost childlike, sentiment at once noble and gentle, extreme grace and charm of execution, marked his works, in contrast to the more animated, complicated and technically superior paintings of later ages.
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
painter from the middle of the 5th century BC. Life
He was the son and pupil of Aglaophon. He was a native of Thasos, but was adopted by the Athenians, and admitted to their citizenship.
During the time of Cimon
Cimon or Kimon ( grc-gre, Κίμων; – 450BC) was an Athenian ''strategos'' (general and admiral) and politician.
He was the son of Miltiades, also an Athenian ''strategos''. Cimon rose to prominence for his bravery fighting in the naval Batt ...
, Polygnotus painted for the Athenians a picture of the taking of Troy on the walls of the Stoa Poikile, and another of the marriage of the daughters of Leucippus in the Anacaeum. Plutarch mentions that historians and the poet Melanthius attest that Polygnotus did not paint for the money but rather out of a charitable feeling towards the Athenian people. In the hall at the entrance to the Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
other works of his were preserved. The most important of his paintings were his frescoes in the Lesche of the Knidians, a building erected at Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
by the people of Cnidus
Knidos or Cnidus (; grc-gre, Κνίδος, , , Knídos) was a Greek city in ancient Caria and part of the Dorian Hexapolis, in south-western Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern s ...
. The subjects of these were the visit to Hades
Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
by Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
and the taking of Troy.
The traveller Pausanias recorded a careful description of these paintings, figure by figure.Pausanias10.25–31
/ref> The foundations of the building have been recovered in the course of the French excavations at Delphi. From this evidence, some archaeologists have tried to reconstruct the paintings, other than their colours. The figures were detached and seldom overlapping, ranged in two or three rows one above another; and the farther were not smaller nor dimmer than the nearer. Therefore, it seems that the paintings of this time were executed on almost precisely the same plan as contemporary sculptural reliefs. Polygnotus employed only a few simple colours. Technically his art was primitive. His excellence lay in the beauty of his drawing of individual figures, especially in the "ethical" and ideal character of his art. A contemporary and perhaps teacher of Pheidias, Polygnotus had the same grand manner. Simplicity, which was almost childlike, sentiment at once noble and gentle, extreme grace and charm of execution, marked his works, in contrast to the more animated, complicated and technically superior paintings of later ages.
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece''. W. H. S. Jones (translator).Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...
. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. (1918).
*
{{Authority control
Ancient Greek painters
Artists of ancient Thasos
5th-century BC Greek people
Metics in Classical Athens
5th-century BC painters