Parrhasius
historical figure · 3 works · 3 mentions · 3 anchored passages
Parrhasius the painter
in the texts
Tusculan Disputations
Renowned Greek painter.
Do we suppose that, had it been counted to the credit of Fabius, a man of the noblest birth, that he could paint, we too should not have had many a Polyclitus and Parrhasius?
Antidosis
A famous painter invoked to show the absurdity of equating noble artistic work with a low trade.
The fact is that, although I have known that some of the sophists traduce my occupation, saying that it has to do with writing speeches for the courts, very much as one might have the effrontery to call Pheidias, who wrought our statue of Athena, a doll-maker, or say that Zeuxis and Parrhasius practiced the same art as the sign-painters, nevertheless I have never deigned to defend myself against t …
Memorabilia
Painter questioned by Socrates about whether visual art can imitate states of soul and character.
Well now, do you also reproduce the character of the soul, the character that is in the highest degree captivating, delightful, friendly, fascinating, lovable?
Do you think that the joys and sorrows of their friends produce the same expression on men’s faces, whether they really care or not?
And further, when you copy types of beauty, it is so difficult to find a perfect model that you combine the most beautiful details of several, and thus contrive to make the whole figure look beautiful.