A famous anecdote told by Pliny the Elder reveals the friendly rivalry that existed between two Greek artists.
Parrhasius is said to have competed with Zeuxis. When Zeuxis painted a backdrop of grapes with such success that birds flew up to it, Parrhasius countered with a picture of a curtain so truly represented that Zeuxis, excited by the decisive action of the birds, noisily demanded that the curtain be removed, if you don't mind, and the picture shown. When he saw his error, he conceded the prize with ingenuous modesty, saying that, although he had deceived the birds, Parrhasius had deceived him, an artist. Zeuxis is said also to have painted at a later date a 'Boy.....
This is a free excerpt of 117 words. This section contains 231 words. This
article contains 30,021 words (approx. 100 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Article with our Classic Greek Civilization 800-323 B.C.E.: Arts Access Pass.
