द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध के प्रमुख घटनाएँ
द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध के प्रमुख घटनाएँ
द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध: ऐसी रहस्यमयी आर्मी, जिसने हिटलर की नाज़ी सेना को ...
1942 में उत्तर अफ्रीका के रेगिस्तान में मित्र राष्ट्रों की सेना जर्मनी, इटली और जापान के गठजोड़ से बने धुरी राष्ट्रों की सेना से लड़ रही थी. सितंबर 16 को दो ब्रितानी सैनिकों, जोफरी बार्कास और टोनी आयर्टन को मिस्र के ...
यूनानी चित्रकार ज़ुकसिस
कला के हर नमूने का उद्देश्य भ्रम पैदा करना नहीं होता, हालाँकि पश्चिमी कला के इतिहास में इसके निशान ज़रूर मिलते हैं. 1960 के दशक में <anchor>यूनानी चित्रकार ज़ुकसिस</anchor> ने अंगूर के गुच्छों की ऐसी ख़ूबसूरत तस्वीर बनाई थी कि एक चिड़िया इन्हें असली अंगूर समझ कर खाने आ गई.
Zeuxis | Encyclopedia.com
EXPLORE

EXPLORE

Encyclopedia.com -- Online dictionary and encyclopedia of facts, information, and biographies

- Humanities
- Culture magazines
- Zeuxis

# Zeuxis

gale

views updated

# Zeuxis

Fifth century b.c.e.–Fourth century b.c.e.

Painter

## Master of Realist Painting.

The Greek artist Zeuxis was born in the city of Heraclea in southern Italy sometime in the fifth century b.c.e. While still a young man, he travelled to Athens and built his reputation as one of Greece's best realist artists there. His style carried on the artistic innovation known as skiagraphia ("shading") developed by the little-known master Apollodorus of Athens. The technique modulated light and shade so as to imitate what the eye sees in nature, thus giving figures the appearance of weight and volume. Apollodorus remarked wryly in an epigram that Zeuxis robbed this artistic technique from his masters and made it his own. Regardless of the originality of his style, Zeuxis indeed was a master of it, and became very wealthy on commissions for his work. He even displayed his wealth at the Olympic Games one year by wearing garments into which his name had been woven with gold thread.

## Works.

None of Zeuxis' works survived to modern times, which means all that is known of his art comes from the descriptions of ancient writers. Aristophanes' comedy, the Acharnians, produced in 425 b.c.e., has a reference to his famous painting of the god of Love, Eros, wreathed in flowers. Another of his paintings was a renowned work of Zeus on his throne, with the other gods standing by, and another of the infant Heracles strangling the two serpents that Hera sent to kill him. The comic essayist Lucian of Samosata (second century c.e.) described a family of centaurs painted by Zeuxis—an unusual subject for a painting, but in keeping with Zeuxis' penchant for themes beyond the normal fare of gods, heroes, and wars. Lucian remarked that a copy of this work existed in Athens in his time, but the original had been stolen by the Roman general Sulla who sacked Athens in 86 b.c.e. and lost at sea during the journey to Rome. According to a legend, Zeuxis was so skilled at realist painting that birds attempted to eat the grapes he painted. Ever the perfectionist, Zeuxis was apparently disappointed that the boy he had painted with the grapes had not been sufficiently real to scare them off. His monochrome etchings on a white background were also notable, but what made his reputation was his skill at producing realistic figures in color.

## sources

Pierre Devambez, Greek Painting ( New York: Viking, 1962).

J. J. Pollitt, The Art of Greece, 1400–31 B.C. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1965).

Martin Robinson, A Short History of Greek Painting (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981).

Arts and Humanities Through the Eras

×

Cite this article

Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

### Citation styles

Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA).

Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list.

Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. Therefore, it’s best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publication’s requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites:

#### Modern Language Association

#### The Chicago Manual of Style

#### American Psychological Association

##### Notes:

- Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Refer to each style’s convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates.
- In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list.

#### More From encyclopedia.com

#### About this article

# Zeuxis

#### You Might Also Like

#### NEARBY TERMS

Zeuxis

## Footer menu

© 2019 Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved.