Theon of Samos

Greek painter

Theon of Samos (Ancient Greek: Θέων ὁ Σάμιος) was an ancient Greek painter during the era of Alexander the Great, is mentioned by Quintilian as a good artist of the second rank. If we may trust the somewhat flimsy stories told about him, his forte consisted in a lifelike, or perhaps, as Brunn puts it, a theatrical representation of action.^[1] His figures were said to start out of the picture. He chose such congenial subjects as the madness of Orestes, and a soldier rushing to battle. Another painter, Theorus, is mentioned, whom Brunn regards as identical with Theon.^[2]

References

^ Brunn, H. (1880). Zur griechischen Künstlergeschichte (in German). p. 253. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Theon". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 785.