J4CKR4BB1TSL1MS: > Pliny recorded that Alexander the Great so admired Apelles’s work that he gave his concubine to him
I can imagine you have to admire someone a great deal before you even consider the thought of gifting them your concubine
SlashSolo: As I started reading this I was thinking “oh, can’t wait to see some of what he’s done, his work must be amazing!” only to have my hopes dashed by the end of the title.
nuclearswan: Very few paintings survive from ancient Greece. Mostly, we just have statues, which were originally painted, but the paint has mostly disintegrated and mosaics.
jramsi20: His influence lived on despite the disappearance of his work. A limited palette know as “the Apelles palette” described in writing about his work was imitated by Titian, Rembrandt, and Velazquez.
Oh and he’s credited with some badass (for an artist anyway) one-liners.
Ekebolon: How do you like them Apelles?
KerPop42: Sic transit gloria mundi…
MountainMantologist: Anyone know how to pronounce *Pliny the Elder*? Someone just told me it’s pronounced Plinny instead of Pl-eye-knee
Hullabalooga: War, fire, flood, time… so many amazing pieces of art and historic artist work were short-lived
Kchan74: I believe the painting he traded for the concubine was “Dogs Playing Poker”.
Le_Mew_Le_Purr: Alexander the Great didn’t really care *that* much about his female concubine. Did he give the artist his 14 year old Persian boy? No, he did not.
boccaccio90: Apelle reminds me of this Italian childhood tongue-twister
Apelle figlio di Apollo
Fece una palla di pelle di pollo
Tutti i pesci vennero a galla
Per vedere la palla di pelle di pollo
Fatta da Apelle figlio di Apollo
XenosSpecialist: Tragically poetic really, the greatest artist vouched for by the dead with no paintings left for the living. I’ll take their word for it
mozakiaeolus: as someone who loves art, I find this saddening
reedlad: Je m’appelle appelles
garyharkness: Yeah but aren’t there photos of the paintings?
incrediblywittyname: The cost of everybody enjoying your art in a delicate medium. All is lost.
Not sure if the equivalent of gifting your concubine today would be , gifting your iPod or Fleshlight.
wOLFman4987: Historically, art has made many attempts to capture the mystery we all experience at some point in our lives… It seems only fitting that the works of the artist who was considered the best of the best stay shrouded in that mystery.
talontachyon: Pliny the Younger never amounted to much.
Can_Confirm_NoCensor: Pliny the Elder!
Necroluster: Yo art so fine you can have my bitch.
StinkyDogFarts: “Great work! Here, have one of my sex slaves, he’s barely broken in”
marfachglothach: Pliny the elder was a nut job
arod1989: I suppose the paintings were lost in the destruction and pillaging of Alexandria and it’s famous library?
Maik-El: The problem with Apelles was that his paints would always fade quickly, which was especially noticeable when compared with his newer paintings. Despite the planned obsolescence, Apelles followers continued to praise his works over all others, including the painters Samus Uni, Moto Rollus, and Gügel.
chevymonza: Everybody’s so focused on the concubine thing, but I’m just sitting here depressed that none of Apelles’s work has survived.
siriusremus: You raised my hopes and dashed them excellently, sir
ioncloud9: Yeah but was he on DeviantArt?