Painter (5th century BC)
Zeuxis was one of the most brilliant painters of antiquity. He was born in Heraclea and came to work in Athens during the Golden Age of Pericles. Even though none of his paintings survive today, they are referenced by several writers and historians who praise his remarkable painting skills and his enthusiasm, comparing him to Pheidias.
Among many of his paintings were Eros with Roses, which was found in the temple of Aphrodite in Athens, Zeus in Throne, Hercules, Amphitryon and Alcmene, Pan and Marsyas, found in the temple of Concordia in Rome. The painting Menelaus depicted the hero Menelaus offering libation to his dead brother Agamemnon. Alexander the Great saw this painting when he passed from Ephesus with great admiration. His painting Family of Centaurs is mentioned in Lucian’s writings. It depicted an idyllic scene of centaurs and was considered Zeuxis’ greatest work of art. Pliny mentions a painting called Boy with grapes. It is said that the grapes looked so real that the birds came to eat them. The painter joked that he did not make the boy look equally real otherwise the birds would go away. In Akragas or in Croton according to others was the painting Helen. For this painting Zeuxis asked for the most beautiful women of the city, from which he chose 5 and used their most beautiful traits to make the picture of Helen. The painting was so valuable that Zeuxis did not allow his painting to be seen unless he was paid money.
Zeuxis’ paintings were a result of meticulous study of nature. Socrates, with whom’s students Zeuxis passed his time, states that the study of Nature leads to a higher level of science by which the student, in this case the artist, can reach the discovery of the esoteric laws which govern Nature unseen. The painter was imbued by the Muses with optic presentations that he/she symbolically depicted in his/her paintings. The paintings acted as a medium between the mortal world and the world of the Higher Supreme Beings. Upon careful examination and understanding of the silent and immobile imager presented in the painting the viewer’s soul was imbued with that same divine information that was passed down from the Muses to the artist. This brought the soul to a meditative state (Dialogismos) whose purpose was to allow the soul to jump from the visible world to the invisible world of the Divine Beings. Even though the paintings of most Ancient Greek painters were demonstrated in public view, Zeuxis’ were only given to special individuals who acknowledged the power of his works.
Bibliography
- Altani. Arritoi Logoi Kentauroi, Amazones, Medousa. Georgiades: Athens, 2005. Print.
- Manias, Theophanis. The Holy Geometry of the Greeks and the Mathematical Structure of the Greek Language. Athens: Pyrinos Kosmos, 2006. Print.
- “Zeuxis”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens, 1946. Print.
