Zeuxis: Child with Grapes, Penelope
Zeuxis was one of the most famous ancient Greek painters, frequently mentioned even in modern literature.
Born in Italy but active across the Greek Mediterranean, Zeuxis was something of a diva who amassed great wealth from his art. He might well be considered the first celebrity artist.
Zeuxis was known for his innovative techniques, particularly in creating volumetric illusion through the manipulation of light and shadow. He preferred small-scale panels to murals and seems to have introduced genre subjects like still life into painting.
Stories of his "photorealism" abound - birds pecking at painted grapes, his contest with Parrhasius - showing how Ancient Greeks prized mimesis in art.
To recreate Zeuxis' style, I focused on realistic effects seen in the best Fayum portraits, though centuries younger, as they likely inherited from classical painting. Penelope's pose is loosely based on a Pompeian fresco (which, fun fact, later inspired Ingres). Zeuxis' talent for mimesis and genre painting reminds me of Velázquez; I like to imagine his works in that vein.
Inspirations
Still life with glass bowl of fruit and vases, from the House of Julia Felix in Pompeii. Zeuxis helped popularize still life in paintings. The author of this particular fresco seemed keen on giving a "photoreal" depiction of grapes, just like Zeuxis was.
Portrait of the Boy Eytyches, Fayum, Metropolitan Museum. This portrait is much more recent than Zeuxis' paintings, of course, but the lifelike nature of the child's face is evocative of the purpose and technique of the Ionian school of painting, of which Zeuxis was a master.
Penelope and Odysseus in a mural from the macellum in Pompeii. Is the attitude of Penelope inspired by Zeuxis' painting? It is not impossible. The same attitude inspired Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres for his Stratonice many, many centuries later.