Nicomachus of Thebes ( el, Νικόμαχος; fl. 4th century BC) was an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
painter, a native of
Thebes, and a contemporary of the great painters of the Classical period. He trained under his father
Aristides
Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remembe ...
, also a painter.
[Pliny, '' Natural History'']
xxxv.108-110
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
gives a list of his works; among them a ''Rape of
Proserpina
Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whose ...
'', ''
Victory
The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...
in a
Quadriga
A () is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in Classical Antiquity and the Roman Empire until the Late Middle Ages. The word derives from the Latin contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke.
The four- ...
'', ''
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
and
Diana'', and ''
Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian language, Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian language, Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother godde ...
seated on a Lion''. Many of his works were taken to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Pliny tells us that he was a very rapid worker and claims that he was one of the painters who used only four colors.
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
mentions his paintings as possessing the
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
ic merit of ease and absence of effort. Cicero equally praises his works.
Vitruvius
Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...
observes that if his fame was less than his contemporaries, it was the fault of fortune rather than a lack of talent.
[Plutarch, ''Timoleon'']
36.3
Vitruvius, ''On Architecture'
Among his students were his young brother
Ariston, his son
Aristides of Thebes
Aristides of Thebes ( grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης ὁ Θηβαῖος), was an ancient Greek painter.
Life
He lived in the 4th century BC. He had a reputation for expressiveness: for example, a picture of his representing a dying mother's fea ...
, and
Philoxenus of Eretria
Philoxenus of Eretria ( grc-gre, Φιλόξενος ὁ Ἐρετριεύς) was a painter from Eretria. He was a disciple of Nicomachus of Thebes, whose speed in painting he imitated and even surpassed, having discovered new and rapid methods of ...
.
List of works
![Lucius_Plautius_Plancus,_denarius,_47_BC,_RRC_453-1a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Lucius_Plautius_Plancus%2C_denarius%2C_47_BC%2C_RRC_453-1a.jpg)
* ''Rape of Proserpina'' (located in the
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, also known as the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus ( la, Aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini; it, Tempio di Giove Ottimo Massimo; ) was the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline ...
, in the
cella
A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...
of
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Rom ...
)
* ''Victory in a Quadriga'' (located in the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus)
* ''Ulysses''
* ''Apollo and Diana''
* ''Cybele seated on a Lion''
* ''Bacchantes and Satyrs''
* ''Scylla'' (located in the
Temple of Peace, Rome
The Temple of Peace ( la, Templum Pacis), also known as the ''Forum of Vespasian'' ( la, Forum Vespasiani), was built in Rome in 71 AD under Emperor Vespasian in honour to Pax, the Roman goddess of peace. It faces the Velian Hill, toward the fam ...
)
* ''Monument to Telestis'' (originally in
Sicyon)
References
Sources
*
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
, ''
Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
''.
*Gaius Plinius Secundus (
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
), ''
Historia Naturalis'' (Natural History).
*Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
), ''
Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...
''.
*
*
Michael Crawford
Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian.
Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...
, ''Roman Republican Coinage'', Cambridge University Press (1974, 2001).
Ancient Greek painters
Ancient Thebans
Art of ancient Boeotia
4th-century BC Greek people
4th-century BC births
Year of death unknown
4th-century BC painters
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