Parrhasius

Parrhasius , fl. c.400 BC, Greek painter. He was born in Ephesus but settled in Athens and is classed with the Attic painters. One of the greatest painters of Greece, a contemporary and rival of Zeuxis, he is credited by ancient writers with having been the first painter to attain perfect symmetry and correct proportions in his figures. Among the most celebrated of his numerous works were an allegorical painting, Demos, personifying the Athenian democracy, and Theseus. All his works have perished and are known only through descriptions by classical writers.

Parrhasius. Greek painter from Ephesus, active in the later 5th century bc. He is said to have been particularly skilful in the use of contour and in depicting character through facial expression, and his mastery of illusionism is recorded in one of Pliny's most famous anecdotes. It concerns a contest Parrhasius had with Zeuxis, who painted some grapes so naturalistically that birds came to peck at them. Victory seeming to be his, he called on Parrhasius to draw back the curtain concealing his picture, but this turned out to be a painted curtain. Zeuxis conceded the contest; he had deceived the birds, but Parrhasius had deceived him.