Apelles

Apelles (Greek Ἀπελλῆς ) was one of the most important painters of ancient Greece and the whole antiquity; He was a contemporary of Alexander the Great, born about 375-370 BC in the colophon (?); died towards the end of the 4th century BC in Kos (?).

None of his paintings has been preserved, they have survived only literary.

Life

Apelles was trained in Ephesus to the artist. His teachers were Ephorus of Ephesus and Pamphilus of Sicyon. At Philip times he went to Macedonia. Here Alexander met him know, who allegedly allowed him alone, to paint him, a privilege which had also the ore caster Lysippos and the stone cutter Pyrgoteles for their art. From Macedonia seems to have Apelles made ​​several trips and spent some time in Rhodes, Kos and Ephesus. After Alexander's death he went to Alexandria to the court of Ptolemy, but later returned to Ephesus.

Apelles was considered the " Coronation of the ancient painting". The also famous painter Protogenes was a rival of Apelles.

Work and significance

Grace, sensual charm, thriving atmosphere, coupled with the scientific rigor and correctness of Sikyon school were, according to the testimonies of the ancients the merits of his works, which were particularly at the famous Aphrodite Anadyomene in the temple of Asklepios to Kos. For emerging from the sea Aphrodite Apelles took the way the famous courtesan Phryne to the model.

Among his other works were the celebrated Alexander with the lightning in the hand ( for the temple of Artemis at Ephesus ), a Charis ( at the Odeon in Smyrna ), an Artemis with sacrificial virgins, a Hercules, Alexander, as he ascends the chariot, and other portraits, such as an image of Leonidas of Tarentum ( in the Temple of Divus Iulius in Rome).

The satirist Lucilius mentioned Apelles in a fragment:

Also, the satirist Petronius Satyricon mentioned in a work of Apelles, titled " monocremon ". The protagonist Encolp located ( in Naples? ) In a picture gallery and admired the old masters.

Famous was the painting " defamation " reports from the Lucian:

After the description of this famous painting was repeated in the Renaissance times, around 1495 by Botticelli (obtained only fragments ) (see Calumny of Apelles ( Botticelli) ) and by Albrecht Dürer at the painting of the Great Council Hall in the Nuremberg town hall to 1521. Similarly, the ( legendary ) was on " Apelles paints Campaspe " ( poem by John Lyly ) in the Renaissance taken up again several times. Alexander the Great is said to have his mistress Campaspe donated to the Apelles, after the painter was inflamed with love for his model.

Strong depth shadow and thereby greatly superior light matches recorded from all his paintings; but he used only four main colors ( white, red, yellow, black, of course, with its nuances and mixtures ).

He also lent his paintings through a peculiar varnish not only protection against moisture and dust, but also more subtlety and delicacy of expression. The same grace which spread about the paintings of Apelles seems to have been the keynote of his whole life. About jealousy of his fellow-artists was Apelles, in the consciousness of his mastery, exalted. Narrated to us anecdotes of him, which illuminate its impartiality, humility and character size. Even as a writer, as a writer of letters to its students Perseus textbook to Apelles has tried.

The saying " Cobbler, stick to your last " goes back to an anecdote about Apelles. Then he would have liked to hide stopped behind his paintings to listen to judgments of the observers. Once a shoemaker would have criticized that the painted shoes have an eyelet too little. Apelles had an image is corrected. But now, the shoemaker had to stay a bit on the legs. Then have him Apelles replied: What is above the shoe, the cobbler can not judge. The anecdote was narrated by Pliny the Elder in Latin: " ... ne supra crepidam sutor iudicaret ... ", hence the Latin phrase " Ne supra crepidam sutor ", also cited as " Ne sutor supra crepidam ", " Ne sutor ultra crepidam " (probably the most common variant) or" Sutor ne ultra crepidam ".

Apelles is the first artist who has been handed down from the that he made a self-portrait.