( fl first quarter of 5th century BC). Greek vase painter. His name is given by the Greek inscription, ‘Myson painted and made [me]’, on a small Attic Red-figure column krater (Athens, N. Archaeol. Mus., Acropolis 806). His importance lies in his influence on his milieu and on the craft itself. He is best known for his picture of Kroisos on his Pyre on an amphora (Paris, Louvre, G 197). This and other early work show ambition and indicate an apprenticeship among the Pioneers. Crossing paths with the Eucharides Painter, the Göttingen Painter and the Chairippos Painter, he then specialized in column kraters, the first in Athens to do so in quantity. Of some 90 vases attributed to him, most are column kraters, usually with a single figure on each side, a style made popular by his contemporary the BERLIN PAINTER. Myson combined a certain grace with a heavy line; his style tightened, then grew flabby. Details in his later work often parallel work of much earlier artists. His preferred subjects were revellers, athletes and Dionysiac scenes; the exceptions are often interesting or unusual. Myson taught the earliest members of the MANNERIST WORKSHOP, which was active for over 50 years.

Part of the Vase painters family

• Myson
  • pupils
    • Vase painters, §II: Mannerist Workshop
    • Vase painters, §II: Pan Painter
  • works
    • Greece, ancient, §V, 6(i)(b): Attic Red-figure pottery: Late Archaic
  • workshop
    • Greece, ancient, §V, 6(i)(c): Attic Red-figure pottery: Early and High Classical