Agatharchus (500–460 BCE)
Born 500 BCE, died 460 BCE.
Agatharchus or Agatharch (Ancient Greek: Ἀγάθαρχος) was a self-taught painter from Samos, who lived in the 5th century BC. His father was named Eudemos (Εὔδημος). He is said by Vitruvius to have invented scenic painting, and to have painted a scene (scenam fecit) for a tragedy which Aeschylus exhibited. Hence some writers, such as Karl Woermann, have supposed that he introduced perspective and illusionism into painting. However, as this appears to contradict Aristotle's assertion that scenic painting was introduced by Sophocles, some scholars understand Vitruvius to mean merely that Agatharchus constructed a stage.
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