Micon

Micon (flourished 5th century bc) was a Greek painter and sculptor, a contemporary and pupil of Polygnotus, who, with him, was among the first to develop the treatment of space in Greek painting.

As a painter Micon is known for the mural painting on the Stoa Poikile (“Painted Portico”) on the Agora at Athens and for the paintings at the Theseum at Athens. Micon and his teacher Polygnotus worked on the Stoa Poikile together, beginning shortly after 460 bc. While Polygnotus executed the central composition for the Stoa Poikile, Micon executed the “Amazonomachy,” or the “Battle of Theseus and the Amazons,” placed to the right of Polygnotus’ work. This work apparently marked an important advance in the rendering of space, perspective, and distance by means of the placement of figures within a composition. The painting procured Micon a considerable reputation among his contemporaries. Micon began to work on the Theseum soon after 475 bc. Among the subjects represented there were the “Battle of the Centaurs and Lapiths” and the “Death of Theseus.” Micon’s innovations helped initiate the decline of Greek vase (pottery) painting because the small, curving surfaces of pots would not permit the spatial elaboration that was possible on the flat, wall-sized pictorial surfaces used by muralists.