ntiquity, such as the portraits of
the Macedonians Clitus, Archelaus and Antigonus, the procession of the
high priest of Artemis at Ephesus, Artemis amid a chorus of maidens, a
great allegorical picture representing Calumny, and the noted painting
representing Aphrodite rising out of the sea. Of none of these works
have we any copy, unless indeed we may consider a painting of Alexander
as Zeus in the house of the Vettii at Pompeii as a reminiscence of his
work; but some of the Italian artists of the Renaissance repeated the
subjects, in a vain hope of giving some notion of the composition of
them.

Few things are more hopeless than the attempt to realize the style of a
painter whose works have vanished. But a great wealth of stories, true
or invented, clung to Apelles in antiquity; and modern archaeologists
have naturally tried to discover what they indicate. We are told, for
example, that he attached great value to the drawing of outlines,
practising every day. The tale is well known of his visit to Protogenes,
and the rivalry of the two masters as to which could draw the finest and
steadiest line. The power of drawing such lines is conspicuous in the
decoration of red-figured vases of Athens. Apelles is said to have
treated his rival with generosity, for he increased the value of his
pictures by spreading a report that he meant to buy them and sell them
as his own. Apelles allowed the superiority of some of his
contemporaries in particular matters: according to Pliny he admired the
_dispositio_ of Melanthius, i.e. the way in which he spaced his figures,
and the _mensurae_ of Asclepiodorus, who must have been a great master
of symmetry and proportion. It was especially in that undefinable
quality "grace" that Apelles excelled. He probably used but a small
variety of colours, and avoided elaborate perspective: simplicity of
design, beauty of line and charm of expression were his chief merits.
When the naturalism of some of his works is praised--for example, the
hand of his Alexander is said to have stood out from the picture--we
must remember that this is the merit always ascribed by ignorant critics
to works which they admire. In fact the age of Alexander was one of
notable idealism, and probably Apelles succeeded in a marked degree in
imparting to his figures a beauty beyond nature.

Apelles was also noted for improvements which he introduced in
technique. He had a dark glaze, called by Pliny _atramentum_, which
ser