From Static Classicism to Hellenistic Dynamism VIII Grapes Versus Curtain-Painting

Pliny's reports define Polygnotus as the father of a painting art. For the first time, he portrayed figures with open mouths, with a grimace, thus giving them expressiveness. According to Aristotle, Polygnotus "perfectly presented the *ethos*" (Boardman, 1964: 192). Its form involves the discovery of perspective. In the period of the Parthenon, this invention was used by Achilles painter depicting vases with doors and buildings in a short perspective, thus giving paintings of three-dimensional space. His leading work was "Descent of Odysseus to Hades," which was originally exhibited in Athens and then deported to Rome.

The son of Nicomedes from Athens, Nicias, was a representative of the school of Athen​ and has already gained recognition in his contemporaries. (Piszczek, 1990). Engaging in the encaustic technique, he became famous as the creator of beautiful female figures, animalist, master of colour and *chiaroscuro* (Becatti, Nicias).

In imitating the famous works of Nicias "Perseus and Andromeda" and "Io and Argus", paintings on the walls of Roman houses, one can see attempts to reflect the characters' psyche. (Nowicka, 1985: 107). For example, let it be the myth of Andromeda, where Nicias concentrates on the intimate aspect of the legend and presents the mythical princess when she is released from her ties. The painting explores the mental state of the liberated heroine who, as if surprised and shy, takes the first step to freedom. In addition to easel painting, Nicias dealt with polychrome statues and in this field, he worked closely with Praxiteles.

After the period of the Peloponnesian Wars, new schools of painting flourished in regions other than Athens. One should mention the Ionian school (existing already from the 6th century BC). It was the stage of intellectual reflections on the meaning and role of art. Zeuxis of Heraclea, a V-century painter who at the height of the war was at the height of fame, created a technique based on volumetric manipulation of light, giving the impression of depth. The painter considered art to be the subject of illusion (which Plato criticized as a socially harmful view), and Pliny the Elder (Naturalia Historia) quotes the history of a duel, which brought this illusion into the rank of a psychological problem. Clashes between Zeuxis and Parrasjos led to the fact that the first had to recognize the superiority of the opponent. The story tells of the Zeuxis painting depicting a bunch of grapes in such a realistic way that the birds were pecking at them. Was the motivation of the painter to delude? The perfect play of light and shadow allowed Parrasjos to deceive not so much the birds as his rival. He painted the curtain so realistically that Zeuxis asked him to unveil the picture. Pliny's story is an interesting reflection on human cognition: while animals cling to the surface, appearance, people inspire deeper ideas contained in art.

The wide changes that have taken place in the art of Greece and the Middle East, were caused by political changes both in the center, Athens, in particular, the rule of the Macedonian rulers. Figurative and portrait sculpture, architecture and planning, painting are fields of artistic and social activity, on which one notices these changes most clearly. Behind them followed philosophy and spirituality. The relationship of people with deities has evolved and this new perspective was reflected in the art in IV and later centuries.