A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

222 APELLES.
excessively thin coloured line on the panel, by
which Protogenes, on his return, at once guessed
who had been his visitor, and in his turn drew a
still thinner line of a different colour upon or within
the former (according to the reading of the recent
editions of Pliny, in illa sisa). When Apelles returned and saw the lines, ashamed to be defeated,
says Pliny, "tertio colore lineas secuit, nullum relinquens amplius subtilitati locum." (1b. ~ 11.) The
most natural explanation of this difficult passage
seems to be, that down the middle of the first line of
Apelles, Protogenes drew another so as to divide it
into two parallel halves, and that Apelles again
divided the line of Protogenes in the same manner.
Pliny speaks of the three lines as visum qfugientes.*
The panel was preserved, and carried to Rome,
where it remained, exciting more wonder than all
the other works of art in the palace of the Caesars,
till it was destroyed by fire with that building.
Of the means which Apelles took to ensure accuracy, the following example is given. He used
to expose his finished pictures to view in a public
place, while he hid himself behind the picture to
hear the criticisms of the passers-by. A cobbler
detected a fault in the shoes of a figure: the next
day he found that the fault was corrected, and
was proceeding to criticise the leg, when Apelles
rushed from behind the picture, and commanded
the cobbler to keep to the shoes. (Plin. Ib. ~ 12:
hence the proverb, Ne supra crepidat m sutor:
see also Val. Max. viii. 12, ext. ~ 3; Lucian tells
the tale of Phidias, pro Inag. 14, vol. ii. p. 492.)
Marvellous tales are told of the extreme accuracy
of his likenesses of men and horses. (Plin. xxxv.
36. ~~ 14, 17,; Lucian, de Calumn. 1. c.; Aelian,
V. H. ii. 3.) With all his diligence, however,
Apelles knew when to cease correcting. He said
that he excelled Protogenes in this one point, that
the latter did not know when to leave a picture
alone, and he laid down the maxim, Nocere saepe
nimiam diligentiam. (Plin. i.e. ~ 10; Cic. Oral. 22;
Quintil. x. 4.)
Apelles is stated to have made great improvements in the mechanical part of his art. The assertion of Pliny, that he used only four colours, is
incorrect. (Diet. of Ant. s. v. Colores.) He painted
with the pencil, but we are not told whether he used
the cestrum. His principal discovery was that of
covering the picture with a very thin black varnish (autrmentuma), which, besides preserving the
picture, made the tints clearer and subdued the
more brilliant colours. (Plin. i.c. ~ 18.) The process
was, in all probability, the same as that now called
glazing or toning, the object of which is to attain
the excellence of colouring " which does not proceed from fine colours, but true colours; from
breaking down these fine colours, which would appear too raw, to a deep-toned brightness." (Sir. J.
Reynolds, Notes ons Du Fresnoy, note 37.) From
the fact mentioned by Pliny, that this varnishing
could be discovered only on close inspection, Sir J.
Reynolds thought that it was like that of Correggio.
That he painted on moveable panels is evident
from the frecquent mention of tabulae with reference
to his pictures. Pliny expressly says, that he did
not paint on walls. (xxxv. 37.)

APELLES.
A list of the works of Apelles is given by Pliny,
(xxxv. 36.) They are for the most part single
figures, or groups of a very few figures. Of his
portraits the most celebrated was that of Alexander
wielding a thunderbolt, which was known as c
IepavvoMo'pos, and which gave occasion to the saying, that of two Alexanders, the one, the son ol
Philip, was invincible, the other, he of Apelles, in
imitable. (Plut. Fort. Alex. 2, 3.) In this picture,
the thunderbolt and the hand which held it ap.
peared to stand out of the panel; and, to aid thit
effect, the artist did not scruple to represent Alex3
ander's complexion as dark, though it was reall3
light. (Plut. Alex. 4.) The price of this picturt
was twenty talents. Another of his portraits, tha
of Antigonus, has been celebrated for its conceal
ment of the loss of the king's eye, by representing
his face in profile. He also painted a portrait o
himself. Among his allegorical pictures was out
representing Castor and Pollux, with Victory an(
Alexander the Great, how grouped we are no
told; and another in which the figure of War
with his hands tied behind his back, followed th,
triumphal car of Alexander. " He also painted,'
says Pliny, "things which cannot be painted
thunders and lightnings, which they call Bronte
Astrape, and Ceramobolia." These were clearl;
allegorical figures. Several of his subjects wer
taken from the heroic mythology. Put of all hi
pictures the most admired was the "Venus Ann
dyomene," (7-j dvavojuo'y 'A^po617?r), or Venu
rising out of the sea. The goddess was wringin
her hair, and the falling drops of water formed
transparent silver veil around her form. This pi(
ture, which is said to have cost 100 talents, wE
painted for the temple of Aesculapius at Cos, an
afterwards placed by Augustus in the temple whic
he dedicated to Julius Caesar. The lower paj
being injured, no one could be found to repair i
As it continued to decay, Nero had a copy of
made by Dorotheus. (Plin. i.e.; Strab. xiv. p. 657
Apelles commenced another picture of Venus ft
the Coans, which he intended should surpass tl:
Venus Anadyomene. At his death, he had finisi
ed only the head, the upper part of the breas
and the outline of the figure; but Pliny says, thi:
it was more admired than his former finished pi
ture. No one could be found to complete tl
work. (Plin. xxxv. 1. c., and 40. ~ 41; Cic. ad Fai.
i. 9. ~ 4, de Off. iii. 2.)
By the general consent of ancient author
Apelles stands first among Greek painters. 'I
the undiscriminating admiration of Pliny, wl
seems to have regarded a portrait of a horse,
true that other horses neiglled at it, as an achiev
ment of art as admirable as the Venus Anadyomei
itself, we may add the unmeasured praise whis
Cicero, Varro, Columella, Ovid, and other write
give to the works of Apelles, and especially to t1
Venus Anadyomene. (Cic. Brut. 18, de Orat. iii.
Varro, L. L. ix. 12, ed. Muller; Colum. R..
Praef. ~ 31, Schn.; Ovid. Art. Aem. iii. 401; Po,
iv. 1. 29; Propert. iii. 7. 11; Auson. Ep. 10'
Anthiol. Planud. iv. 178-182.) Statius (Silv. i.
100) and Martial (xi. 9) call painting by the nar
of "Ars Apellea." Sir Joshua Reynolds says
the Greek painters, and evidently with an espec
reference to Apelles, "if we had the good fortu
to possess what the ancients themselves esteem
their masterpieces, I have no doubt but we shos
find their figures as correctly drawn as the L;

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* Does this refer only to the excessive thinness
of the lines, or may it mean that the three lines
were actually tapered away towards a common
vanishing point?