Polygnotus

Polygnotus , fl. c.460 BC-447 BC, Greek painter, b. Thasos. He later became an Athenian citizen. He painted the Capture of Troy and Descent of Odysseus to Hades in the Cnidian Lesche or clubhouse at Delphi and the Fall of Troy in the Painted Porch, Athens. He is credited with having developed a series of physical attitudes to express emotion that may be reflected in vase painting of the late 5th cent. None of his works have survived.

Polygnotus of Thasos. Greek painter, active chiefly in Athens in the mid-5th century bc. None of his works survive, but ancient sources credit him with being the first great figure in Greek painting. He painted large compositions (mainly mythological) with many figures and some indication of landscape. His style was said to be serious and dignified, and his lively and expressive faces marked an advance on earlier art.