Cimon of Cleonae was an early painter of

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

. He was said to have introduced great improvements in drawing. He represented figures, according to

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

, "out of the straight", and he developed ways of representing faces looking back, up, or down; he also made the joints of the body clear, emphasized veins, worked out folds and doublings in garments (according to Pliny). Pliny also said Cimon of Cleonae's attention to detail and accuracy to life was so great, that he was famously able to dispense with what had always been the universal custom of affixing the name of generals to their portraits, since they were so readily recognizable. All these improvements may be traced in the drawing of early Greek red-figured vases. There is some uncertainty concerning whether Cimon of Cleonae lived in the 8th century BC or the 6th century BC.

References

Attribution: * Ancient Greek painters Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from Nemea {{greece-painter-stub