Contemporaneous with Zeuxis, and equal in fame, was Parrhasius, a native of Ephesus, whose skill lay in accuracy of drawing and power of expression.  He gave to painting true proportion, and attended to minute details of the countenance and the hair.  In his gods and heroes, he did for painting what Phidias did in sculpture.  His outlines were so perfect as to indicate those parts of the figure which they did not express.  He established a rule of proportion which was followed by all succeeding artists.  While many of his pieces were of a lofty character, some were demoralizing.  Zeuxis yielded the palm to him, since Parrhasius painted a curtain which deceived his rival, whereas the grapes of Zeuxis had deceived only birds.  Parrhasius was exceedingly arrogant and luxurious, and boasted of having reached the utmost limits of his art.  He combined the magic tone of Apollodorus with the exquisite design of Zeuxis and the classic expression of Polygnotus.

Many were the eminent painters that adorned the fifth century before Christ, not only in Athens, but in the Ionian cities of Asia.  Timanthes of Sicyon was distinguished for invention, and Eupompus of the same city founded a school.  His advice to Lysippus is memorable:  “Let Nature, not an artist, be your model.”  Protogenes was celebrated for his high finish.  His Talissus took him seven years to complete.  Pamphilus was celebrated for composition, Antiphilus for facility, Theon of Samos for prolific fancy, Apelles for grace, Pausias for his chiaro-oscuro, Nicomachus for his bold and rapid pencil, Aristides for depth of expression.

The art probably culminated in Apelles, who was at once a rich colorist and portrayer of sensuous charm and a scientific artist, while he added a peculiar grace of his own, which distinguished him above both his predecessors and contemporaries.  He was contemporaneous with Alexander, and was alone allowed to paint the picture of the great conqueror.  Apelles was a native of Ephesus, studied under Pamphilus of Amphipolis, and when he had gained reputation he went to Sicyon and took lessons from Melanthius.  He spent the best part of his life at the court of Philip and Alexander, and painted many portraits of these great men and of their generals.  He excelled in portraits, and labored so assiduously to perfect himself in drawing that he never spent a day without practising.  He made great improvement in the mechanical part of his art, inventing some colors, and being the first to varnish pictures.  By the general consent of ancient authors, Apelles stands at the head of all the painters of their world.  His greatest work was his Venus Anadyomene, or Venus rising out of the sea, in which female grace was personified; the falling drops of water from her hair gave the appearance of a transparent silver veil over her form.  This picture cost one hundred talents, was painted for the Temple of Aesculapius at Cos, and afterward placed by Augustus in the temple which he dedicated to Julius Caesar.  The lower part of it becoming injured, no one could be found to repair it; nor was there an artist who could complete an unfinished picture which Apelles left.  He feared no criticism, and was unenvious of the fame of rivals.