Apollodorus of athens biography of alberta

Artist

Flourished: Fifth century b. c.e.; Athens, Greece Also known as: Sciagraphos; Skiagraphos Category: Art and architecture

Life The particulars of the life of Apollodorus (uh-pahl-uh-DOHR-uhs) of Athens are unknown, and none of his work survives.

However, he is known to have continued the advances toward realism in art developed by the earlier fifth century b.

Athens

c.e. painters Micon, Polygnotus, and Agatharcus. Agatharcus, the first to paint a scene for a production of tragedy, wrote a treatise on the use of perspective for creating the illusion of theatrical distance. Apollodorus furthered the illusion of perspective, employing the use of light and shadow to convey spatial relationships, a technique known as chiaroscuro.

Apollodorus came to be known as “Sciagraphos,” or “Shadow-Painter,” from the Greek for “shadow-drawing.” Historian Pliny the Elder spoke of him as the first to paint things as they really appear and to g