This mural from Pompeii is believed to be based on Apelles', Venus Anadyomene, brought to Rome by Augustus.

Apelles of Kos (flourished 4th century BC) was a renowned painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom we owe much of our knowledge of this artist (Naturalis Historia 35.36.79-97 and passim) rated him superior to preceding and subsequent artists. He dated Apelles to the 112th Olympiad (332-329 BC), possibly because he had produced a portrait of Alexander the Great. Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge... The 2nd century is the period from 101 - 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Little is known about Apelles. ... Christoph Scheiner (July 25, 1573 or 1575 – June 18, 1650) was a German astronomer and Jesuit. ... A sunspot is a region on the Suns surface (photosphere) that is marked by a lower temperature than its surroundings and intense magnetic activity, which inhibits convection, forming areas of low surface temperature. ... Elizabeth Thomas, eli@eli-nati. ... Elizabeth Thomas, eli@eli-nati. ... Venus Anadyomene, by Titian, ca. ... Port and city view of Kos town on the island Kos. ... The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... Naturalis Historia, 1669 edition, title page. ... An Olympiad is a period of four years, associated with the Olympic Games of Classical Greece. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1][2] Megas Alexandros; July 20 356 BC – June 10 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon (336–323 BC). ...

Biography

Probably born at Colophon in Ionia, he first studied under Ephorus of Ephesus, but after he had attained some celebrity he became a student to Pamphilus at Sicyon (N.H. 35.36.75). He thus combined the Dorian thoroughness with the Ionic grace. Attracted to the court of Philip II, he painted him and the young Alexander with such success that he became the recognized court painter of Macedon, and his picture of Alexander holding a thunderbolt ranked with the Alexander with the spear of the sculptor Lysippus. Colophon (Greek Κολοφών; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was a titular see of Asia Minor. ... Location of Ionia Ionia (Greek Ιωνία; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was an ancient region of southwestern coastal Anatolia (in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir,) on the Aegean Sea. ... Sicyon was an ancient Greek city situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea. ... [[Im Category: ... From ancient Greece (Ionic) An Ionian is a member of one of the four great divisions of the ancient Greek people. ... Philip II of Macedon: victory medal (niketerion) struck in Tarsus, 2nd c. ... Typical cartoon representations of thunderbolts A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. ... Lysippos was a Greek sculptor of the fourth century BC. Among the works attributed to him are Eros Stringing the Bow (various copies exist; the best is in the British Museum); Agias (known from a marble copy found and preserved in Delphi); Weary Hercules (originally placed in the Baths of...

Much of what we know of Apelles is derived from Pliny's Natural History, xxxv. His skill at drawing the human face is the point of a story connecting him with Ptolemy I Soter. This onetime general of Alexander disliked Apelles while they both were in Alexander's retinue, and many years later, while travelling by sea a storm forced Apelles to land in Ptolemy's Egyptian kingdom. Ptolemy's jester was suborned by Apelles' rivals to convey to the artist a spurious invitation to dine with Ptolemy. Apelles's unexpected arrival enraged the king. Ptolemy demanded to know who had given Apelles the invitation, and with a piece of charcoal from the fireplace Apelles drew a likeness on the wall -- which Ptolemy recognized as his jester in the first strokes of the sketch. Naturalis Historia, 1669 edition, title page. ... Ptolemy I Soter (Greek: , Ptolemaios Soter, i. ... Ptolemy I Soter (Greek: , Ptolemaios Soter, i. ... “Joker” redirects here. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... “Joker” redirects here. ... Look up Sketch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Apelles was a contemporary of Protogenes, whose reputation he advocated. Pliny's Natural History recorded an anecdote that was making the rounds among Hellenistic connoisseurs of the first century CE: Apelles travelled to Protogenes' home on Rhodes make the acquaintance of this painter he had heard so much about. Arriving at Protogenes' studio, he encountered an old woman who told him that Protogenes was out and asked for his name so she could report who had enquired after him. Observing in the studio a panel Protogenes had prepared for a painting, Apelles walked over to the easel, and taking up a brush told the servant to tell Protogenes "this came from me," and drew in colour an extremely fine line across the panel. When Protogenes returned, and the old woman explained what had taken place, he examined the line and pronounced that only Apelles could have done so perfect of work; Protogenes then dipped a brush into another colour and drew a still finer line above the first one, and asked his servant to show this to the visitor should he return. When Apelles returned, and was shown Protogenes' response, ashamed that he might be bettered, he drew in a third colour an even finer line between the first two, leaving no room for another display of craftsmanship. On seeing this, Protogenes admitted defeat, and went out to seek Apelles and meet him face-to-face.^[1] Protogenes (fl. ... Naturalis Historia Pliny the Elders Natural History is an encyclopedia written by Pliny the Elder. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... Deer statues in Mandraki harbor, where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood This article is about the Greek island of Rhodes. ...

Pliny claims that this very painting had been part of the collection of Julius Caesar, but was destroyed when Caesar's mansion on the Palatine Hill burned down. Gaius Julius Caesar [1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... 17th century aviaries on the hill, built by Rainaldi for Odoardo Cardinal Farnese: once wirework cages surmounted them. ...

While sketching one of Alexander the Great's concubines, Campaspe, Apelles fell in love with her. As a mark of appreciation for the great painter's work, Alexander presented her to him. Alexander the Great and Campaspe in the studio of Apelles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Campaspe, the mistress of Alexander the Great, was painted by Apelles, who had the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters. ...

Apelles is said to have been working on a painting of Aphrodite of Kos when he died, and the painting was left unfinished for no one could be found with skill enough to complete it. For other uses, see Aphrodite (disambiguation). ... Port and city view of Kos town on the island Kos. ...

Works

Apelles' paintings (none of which survive) included:

• Alexander wielding a thunderbolt, one of the many he did of both Alexander and his father Philip;
• Aphrodite Anadyomene ("Aphrodite Rising from the Sea"), showing the goddess rising from the sea (not the painting he was working on when he died, but an earlier painting), for which Pliny the Elder relates the tradition he used a former mistress of Alexander, Campaspe, as his model for Aphrodite. According to Athenaeus ^[2], the idea of Aphrodite Rising from the Sea was inspired by Phryne who during the time of the festivals of the Eleusinia and Poseidonia had no problem swimming nude in the sea.
• A portrait of Antigonus I Monophthalmus on horseback, in a three-quarters view which artfully concealed the subject's blind eye;
• A portrait of Artemis surrounded by a group of maidens offering a sacrifice, based on Odyssey 6.102ff;
• Sacrifice in Cos, described in the Mimes (4.59) of Herodas.
• The portraits of Clitus the Black and Archelaus I of Macedon.
• The procession of the high priest of Artemis at Ephesus.
• A great allegorical picture representing Calumny, inspiration to in Sandro Botticelli's Calumny of Apelles.

A number of his paintings were taken to Rome (including Aphrodite Anadyomene and placed there on public display; two compositions that included a portrait of Alexander -- Castor and Pollux with Victory and Alexander the Great, and The Figure of War with his Hands Tied Behind Him Following the Triumphal Chariot of Alexander -- the Emperor Claudius later had Alexander's face replaced with that of his grandfather Augustus. Typical cartoon representations of thunderbolts A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. ... Venus Anadyomene, by Titian, ca. ... Statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture For the 1934 film, see, see The Goddess (1934 film). ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... Alexander the Great and Campaspe in the studio of Apelles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Campaspe, the mistress of Alexander the Great, was painted by Apelles, who had the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters. ... Athenaeus (ca. ... View of the Colonna Venus, ancient replica of the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, (Phryne is thought to be the model). ... The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every five years for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. ... Neptune reigns in the city of Bristol. ... Antigonus I Cyclops or Monophthalmos (the One-eyed, so called from his having lost an eye) (382 BC - 301 BC) was a Macedonian nobleman, general, and satrap under Alexander the Great. ... The Diana of Versailles, a Roman copy of a sculpture by Leochares (Louvre Museum) In Greek mythology, Artemis (Greek: (nominative) , (genitive) ) was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo. ... Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome For other uses, see Sacrifice (disambiguation). ... Beginning of the Odyssey The Odyssey (Greek Οδύσσεια (Odússeia) ) is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to the Ionian poet Homer. ... Port and city view of Kos town on the island Kos. ... Herodas (Greek: ), or Herondas (the name is spelt differently in the few places where he is mentioned), Greek poet, the author of short humorous dramatic scenes in verse, written under the Alexandrian empire in the 3rd century BC. Apart from the intrinsic merit of these pieces, they are interesting in... Clitus the Black (c. ... Archelaus I was king of Macedon from 413 to 399 BC, following the death of Perdiccas II. The son of Perdiccas by a slave woman, Archelaus obtained the throne by murdering his uncle, his cousin, and his half-brother, the legitimate heir, but proved a capable and beneficent ruler, known... Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli (little barrel) (March 1, 1445 – May 17, 1510) was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance (Quattrocento). ... The Calumny of Apelles is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, circa 1494-1495. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... For other persons named Claudius, see Claudius (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Augustus (disambiguation). ...

Legacy

Alexander the Great and Campaspe in the studio of Apelles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Few things are more hopeless than the attempt to realize the style of a painter whose works have vanished. But a great wealth of stories, true or invented, clung to Apelles in antiquity; and modern archaeologists have naturally tried to discover what they indicate. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2024 × 1562 pixel, file size: 210 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2024 × 1562 pixel, file size: 210 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1][2] Megas Alexandros; July 20 356 BC – June 10 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon (336–323 BC). ... Alexander the Great and Campaspe in the studio of Apelles, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Campaspe, the mistress of Alexander the Great, was painted by Apelles, who had the reputation in Antiquity for being the greatest of painters. ... Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770) was an Venetian painter and printmaker, considered among the last Grand Manner fresco painters from the Venetian republic. ...

We are told, for example, that he attached great value to the drawing of outlines, practising every day. The tale is well known of his visit to Protogenes, and the rivalry of the two masters as to which could draw the finest and steadiest line. The power of drawing such lines is conspicuous in the decoration of red-figured vases of Athens. Apelles is said to have treated his rival with generosity, for he increased the value of his pictures by spreading a report that he meant to buy them and sell them as his own.

Apelles allowed the superiority of some of his contemporaries in particular matters: according to Pliny he admired the dispositio of Melanthius, i.e. the way in which he spaced his figures, and the mensurae of Asclepiodorus, who must have been a great master of symmetry and proportion. It was especially in that undefinable quality "grace" that Apelles excelled. He probably used but a small variety of colours, and avoided elaborate perspective: simplicity of design, beauty of line and charm of expression were his chief merits. When the naturalism of some of his works is praised--for example, the hand of his Alexander is said to have stood out from the picture--we must remember that this is the merit always ascribed by ignorant critics to works which they admire. In fact the age of Alexander was one of notable idealism, and probably Apelles succeeded in a marked degree in imparting to his figures a beauty beyond nature. Melanthius was a noted Greek painter of the 4th century BC. He belonged to the school of Sicyon, which was noted for fine drawing. ...

Pliny connects a number of sayings to Apelles, which may come from Apelles' lost treatise on the art of painting. One comes from Apelles' judgement on Protogenes, that Protogenes knew when his painting was finished: quod manum de tabula scirat -- "[He knew] when to take the hand from the picture." Another refers to his practice of exhibiting his works in the front of his shop, then hiding near by to hear the comments of passers-by. When a cobbler commented on his mistakes in painting a shoe, Apelles made the corrections that very night; the next morning the cobbler noticed the changes, and proud of his effect on the artist's work began to criticize how Apelles portrayed the leg -- whereupon Apelles emerged from his hiding-place to state: Ne sutor ultra crepidam -- "Let the shoemaker venture no further." The last saying Pliny attributes to Apelles refers to the painter's diligence at practising his art every day: Nulla dies sine linea -- "Not a day without a line drawn."

Pliny states that Apelles made a number of useful innovations to the art of painting, but his recipe for a black varnish, called by Pliny atramentum -- which served both to preserve his paintings and to soften their colour, and created an effect that Pliny praises to no end -- Apelles kept secret and was lost with his death. Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. ...

There can be little doubt that Apelles was one of the most bold and progressive, of artists. Such was his fame that several Italian Renaissance painters repeated his subjects, in a vain hope of giving some notion of the composition of them. Raphael may have portrayed himself as Apelles in The School of Athens and Sandro Botticelli based two paintings -- The birth of Venus and Calumny of Apelles -- on his works. The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... This page is about the artist. ... The School of Athens is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael. ... Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli (little barrel) (March 1, 1445 – May 17, 1510) was an Italian painter of the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance (Quattrocento). ... The Birth of Venus is a painting by Sandro Botticelli. ... The Calumny of Apelles is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, circa 1494-1495. ...

Painters' colours

The number of colours used by painters in their art has varied greatly. Until the time of Apelles but four were known - white, yellow, red, and black. Green, purple, and blue were discovered later. White is the combination of all the colors of the visible light spectrum. ... A yellow Tulip. ... Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625–750 nm. ... Black cat, thought by some to cause bad luck (see superstition) Black is the shade of objects that do not reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum. ... Leafy green fountain in Wattens, Austria. ... Not to be confused with Violet (color). ... The term blue may refer to any of a number of similar colours. ...

Notes

1. ^ Guillaume Apollinaire retold this story in his essay "On the Subject of Modern Painting", originally published in Les Soirées de Paris, February 1912. This tale is a Trope:literary trope epitomizing the sublime simplicity of the greatest art in the hands of a consummate artist: comparable examples are Giotto's perfect circle, drawn freehand, and the scholar-painter Chuang-tzu's perfect crab, which, following ten years of preparation, was drawn in a single stroke without lifting his ink brush from the paper.
2. ^ Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae Book XIII[1]

• This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain.

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (August 26, 1880 – November 9, 1918) was a poet, writer, and art critic. ... For the band, see Sublime (band), or their third album Sublime (album). ... There are several things that have been named Giotto: Giotto di Bondone an Italian painter. ... thumb|Zhuang Zi by Japan Zhuāng Zǐ (pinyin), Chuang Tzu (W-G), or Chuang Tse (Chinese 莊子, literally meaning Master Zhuang) was a famous philosopher in ancient China who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools of... Athenaeus (ca. ... The Deipnosophistes (deipnon “dinner” and sophistae, “the wise ones”) is variously translated as The Banquet of the Learned or Philosophers at Dinner or The Gastronomers is work of some 15 books (some complete and some surviving in summaries only) by the ancient Greek author Athenaeus of Naucratis in Egypt, written... The New International Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia first published in the 1910s. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

Publications

• Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis xxxv, 91 ff.
• Woltmann and Woermann, History of Painting, volume i (English translation, New York, 1886)
• Houssaye, Histoire d'Apelles (Paris, 1867)
• Wustmann, Apelles' Leben und Werke (Leipzig, 1870)
• Ernst H. Gombrich, 'The Heritage of Apelles', The Heritage of Apelles: Studies in the Art of Renaissance, (Cornell University Press: Ithaca, New York, 1976), pp 3-18.

Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... Naturalis Historia, 1669 edition, title page. ... Alfred Woltmann (1841-80) was a German art historian. ... Karl Woermann (1844- 1933) was a German art historian and museum director. ... Henry Houssaye (February 24, 1848 - September 23, 1911), was a French historian and academician. ... Gustav Wustmann (1844 - 1911) was a German philologist and historian, born in Dresden, where he frequented the Kreuzschule, before studying philology at Leipzig in 1862-66. ... Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001) CBE, was an Austrian-Jewish art historian, who spent most of his working life in the United Kingdom. ... Localization of Ithaca The big island in the center is Kefalonia. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• John J. Popovic, "Apelles, the greatest painter of Antiquity" Source quotes from Pliny's Natural History.
• (rodcorp) "Giotto's circle, Apelles' lines, Chuang-tzu's crab": Tracing a literary topos.