Timanthes
Illustration — Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Antique fresco from Pompeii Timanthes of Cythnus was an ancient Greek painter of the fourth century BC. The most celebrated of his works was a picture representing the sacrifice of Iphigenia, in which he finely depicted the emotions of those who took part in the sacrifice; however, despairing of rendering the grief of Agamemnon, he represented him as veiling his face. Zeuxis, Timanthes and Parrhasius were painters who belonged to the Ionian School of painting.
Also recorded as Timanthes of Kythnos · Timanoa
Timanthes
Александр Сигачёв · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 500 · Kythnos.
- Died
- 400
- Occupation
- painter
- Languages
- Ancient Greek
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Antique fresco from Pompeii Timanthes of Cythnus was an ancient Greek painter of the fourth century BC. The most celebrated of his works was a picture representing the sacrifice of Iphigenia, in which he finely depicted the emotions of those who took part in the sacrifice; however, despairing of rendering the grief of Agamemnon, he represented him as veiling his face. Zeuxis, Timanthes and Parrhasius were painters who belonged to the Ionian School of painting.
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wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
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Authority files
getty · 500023991 · gnd · 130314722 · wikidata · Q707873 · wikipedia · Timanthes
In this article
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
400
Timanthes died.
500
Timanthes born at Kythnos.
Influence
The Ionian School flourished during the 4th-century BCE. A fresco discovered at Pompeii, and now in the Museum at Naples, has been regarded as a copy or echo of this painting (Wolfgang Helbig, Wandgemälde Campaniens, No.
Timanthes' Sacrifice of Iphigenia was well-known in Rome through Pliny the Elder's description in Book 35 of his Natural History. Even before his description, Cicero and Quintillian used it to describe the effects of the four men who witnessed or partook of the sacrifice. Agamemnon is veiled since his sadness was so great that it could not be portrayed in paint. Iphigenia's suffering seems to be left out. The painting had a strong impact in the Renaissance. Artists such as Giorgio Vasari and Peter Paul Rubens attempted to replicate the lost painting. Writers from Leon Battista Alberti to Jacopo Sannazaro, and from Michel de Montaigne to Gianbattista Marino, include the sacrifice in their works devoting all their attention to the sadness expressed by the four men and Agamemnon in particular. In Spain Juan Boscán redirects the suffering to Iphigenia
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 130314722, Timanthes.
Unverified · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
- Getty Union List of Artist Names 500023991, Timanthes.
Unverified · The Getty Research Institute
reference work
- “Timanthes”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q707873: Timanthes
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
Literature
Literature
The Iphigenia of Timanthes, a Prize Poem for 1819, The Classical Journal, 2013
Ralf Konersmann, Der Schleier des Timanthes
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 130314722, Timanthes.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Partially resolvedauthority file
Getty Union List of Artist Names 500023991, Timanthes.The Getty Research Institute
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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