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.
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.
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.
Apelles' paintings (none of which survive) included:
? Alexander wielding a thunderbolt, one of the many he did of both Alexander and his father Philip;
? Venus 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 the idea of Aphrodite Rising from the Sea was inspired by Phyrne who during the time of the festivals of the Eleusinian Mysteries and Poseidon 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 Artemus surrounded by a group of maidens offering a Sacrifice, based on Odyssey 6.102ff;
? Sacrifice in Kos, described in the Mimes (4.59) of Herodas.
?The portraits of Clitus the Black and Achelaus 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 Calumni of Apelles.
This mural from Pompeii is believed to be based on Apelles', Venus Anadyomene, brought to Rome by Augustus.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/ApellesVenus.jpg
((All information is taken from Wikipedia))
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.
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.
Apelles' paintings (none of which survive) included:
? Alexander wielding a thunderbolt, one of the many he did of both Alexander and his father Philip;
? Venus 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 the idea of Aphrodite Rising from the Sea was inspired by Phyrne who during the time of the festivals of the Eleusinian Mysteries and Poseidon 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 Artemus surrounded by a group of maidens offering a Sacrifice, based on Odyssey 6.102ff;
? Sacrifice in Kos, described in the Mimes (4.59) of Herodas.
?The portraits of Clitus the Black and Achelaus 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 Calumni of Apelles.
This mural from Pompeii is believed to be based on Apelles', Venus Anadyomene, brought to Rome by Augustus.
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/Azjahh/Art%20Museum/ApellesVenus.jpg
((All information is taken from Wikipedia))