Chap. 36.] AETISTS WHO PAINTED WITH THE PENCIL. 257 



too, was equal to his talent ; he acknowledged the superiority 

 of Melanthius in his grouping, and of Asclepiodorus in the 

 niceness of his measurements, or, in other words, the distances 

 that ought to be left between the objects represented. 



A circumstance that happened to him in connection with 

 Protogenes is worthy of notice. The latter was living at Ehodes, 

 when Apelles disembarked there, desirous of seeing the works 

 of a man whom he had hitherto only known by reputation. 

 Accordingly, he repaired at once to the studio ; Protogenes 

 was not at home, but there happened to be a large panel 

 upon the easel ready for painting, with an old woman who 

 was left in charge. To his enquiries she made answer, that 

 Protogenes was not at home, and then asked whom she 

 should name as the visitor. " Here he is,'* was the reply of 

 Apelles, and seizing a brush, he traced with colour upon the 

 panel an outline of a singularly minute fineness. Upon his 

 return, the old woman mentioned to Protogenes what had 

 happened. The artist, it is said, upon remarking the delicacy 

 of the touch, instantly exclaimed that Apelles must have been 

 the visitor, for that no other person was capable of executing 

 anything so exquisitely perfect. So saying, he traced within 

 the same outline a still finer outline, but with another colour, 

 and then took his departure, with instructions to the woman 

 to show it to the stranger, if he returned, and to let him know 

 that this was the person whom he had come to see. It hap- 

 pened as he anticipated ; ApeUes returned, and vexed at find- 

 ing himself thus surpassed, he took up another colour and split^^ 

 both of the outlines, leaving no possibility of anything finer being 

 executed. Upon seeing this, Protogenes admitted that he was 

 defeated, and at once flew to the harbour to look for his guest. 



53 " Secuit." Possibly meaning that he drew another outline in each 

 of these outlines. The meaning, however, is doubtful, and has occasioned 

 much trouble to the commentators. Judging from the words used by 

 Apelles and Protogenes, each in his message, it is not unlikely that the 

 " linea" or outline drawn by each was a profile of himself, and that the 

 profile of Protogenes was drawn within that of Apelles ; who, on the 

 second occasion, drew a third profile between the other two, but with a still 

 finer line than either of them. In Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Biography, 

 art. Apelles, it is thus explained : "The most natural explanation of this 

 difficult passage seems to be, that down the middle of the first line of 

 Apelles, Protogenes drew another, so as to divide it into two parallel 

 halves, and that Apelles again divided the line of Protogenes in the same 

 manner." 



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