( fl c. 440–c. 420 BC). Greek vase painter. Although c. 50 works have been attributed to him, his signature survives only on a fine Red-figure kylix (Madrid, Mus. Arqueol. N., 11265) decorated with the Exploits of Theseus. Six episodes are competently but routinely depicted on the outside of the kylix, but the culmination of the cycle, the Defeat of the Minotaur, is treated more lavishly in the tondo. With his patron goddess Athena by his side, the hero drags the dead Minotaur from its labyrinth, which is represented by a fine Ionic building bordered at its right-hand edge by a suitably labyrinthine vertical meander stripe. The scene is skilfully conceived and executed. The circular ground is elegantly criss-crossed by a balanced composition of vertical and diagonal lines, while the three figures are pointedly contrasted by their poses and appearance: the aloof and dignified goddess, the athletic, straining hero, and the grotesque, limp torso of the Minotaur.

Part of the Vase painters family

• Aison
  • Greece, ancient, §V, 6(i)(d): Attic Red-figure pottery: Late 5th century B
  • Vase painters, §II: Eretria Painter
  • Vase painters, §II: Meidias Painter