Plinij starejši o grškem slikarstvu in njegovem najpomembnejšem predstavniku, Apelu iz Kolofona pri Efezu

Abstract

In his encyclopedic Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder dedicated most of his attention among all art forms to Greek painting (35, 2–150), from which it can be concluded that painting was highly valued among the Greeks and most likely considered the most prestigious form of fine arts. Because almost all Greek painting originals and art history essays from the Classical and Hellenistic periods have been lost, Pliny’s history of ancient art is of exceptional importance because the author was well acquainted with the production of both. According to Pliny, painting was invented by the Greeks (and not the Egyptians) in Sicyon or Corinth, when they drew a line around the contours of a human shadow. At the end of the Archaic Period and especially during the Classical Period, Greek painters were moving increasingly closer to realism, especially in depicting human figures. However, for the development of painting as an art form a series of exclusively Greek innovations was of great importance; these followed one another from the end of the 6th century BC to the late Classical Period. According to Eva Keuls (1978), the most important among these are the following: catagraphy or slanting images (Gr. katagraphia, Lat. imagines obliquae) invented by Cimon of Cleonae (end of 6th century BC), scene painting (Gr. skenographia, no specific Latin term) introduced by Agatharchus of Samos (460–420 BC), shading (Gr. skiagraphia, Lat. lumen et umbrae) invented by Appolodorus of Athens (430–400 BC) and Zeuxis of Heraclea (425–397 BC), and painting of ethos and pathos (Gr. ethe and pathos, Lat. mores and perturbationes), which is said to have been introduced by Aristeides II of Thebes (360–310 BC). In the 4th century BC, the primacy in painting was shared by the older Sicyon school and the younger Theban-Attic school. The Sicyon school is important for two reasons. First, it succeeded in including painting in the Greek Paidea and raising it to the level of artes liberales. Second, it trained the greatest Greek painter, Apelles of Colophon (360–300 BC). In addition to their technical perfection, the Theban-Attic masters are also important because they were the only Greek painters to whom original paintings can be ascribed: Nicomachus of Thebes (390–340 BC) painted the frescos on Persephone’s tomb in the Macedonian town of Vergina, and Nicias of Athens (350–300 BC) painted the frieze on the facade of Philip II of Macedon’s tomb at Vergina. At the same time, archeologists believe that Philoxenus of Eretria (350–300 BC) was the author of the painting that was copied in the famous Alexander Mosaic depicting Alexander’s battle against Darius III of Persia, located at the House of the Faun in the ruins of Pompeii (displayed at the National Archeological Museum in Naples). Pliny the Elder fully agrees with other Greek and Roman authors that Apelles of Colophon was the most important ancient painter. This is why he dedicates nineteen chapters (35, 79–97) to Apelles in his overview. Through anecdotes about the artist’s life and work, he also provides information on the painter’s character and gives a detailed description of his oeuvre. Of great importance for both Hellenistic and later Roman art were his portraits of Alexander the Great, especially the image of Alexander Keraunophoros (Alexander the Great holding a Thunderbolt) for the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, which represents an important innovation in ruler iconography because Alexander is depicted with divine attributes. The image of victorious Alexander has been preserved in two paintings (Castor and Pollux with Victory and Alexander the Great and War with the Hands Tied behind, with Alexander riding in Triumph in his Chariot) that Augustus put on display at his Forum in Rome. More notable among Apelles’ portraits of famous persons is his portrait of Antigonus I Monophthalmus, whom he painted in profile to conceal his disfigurement (he only had one eye). Among his allegorical depictions, the picture of Calumny, which was based on a true episode from the artist’s life, has been preserved in historical memory. Compositional principles of the Sicyon school can be seen in his depiction of Heracles with Face Averted. Since the Hellenistic Period, Apelles’ most famous picture has been Aphrodite Anadyomene (Aphrodite Rising from the Sea), for which Apelles used his mistress Pancaspe of Larissa as his model for Aphrodite; another legend has it that it was inspired by the famous hetaera, the courtesan Phryne of Athens. The only work that could be said to be more famous is the unfinished painting of Aphrodite of Kos, which was left unfinished due to the artist’s death.