‘But it was Apelles of Cos who surpassed all the painters that preceded him and all who were to come after him.’ Pliny, Natural History (XXXV.79)
In this print French Monogrammist IQV presents us with the image created by artist Francesco Primaticcio, capturing the moment when Apelles falls in love with Campaspe. According to Pliny, Alexander the Great was so taken by the skill of Apelles as a painter that he presented his mistress Campaspe to Apelles who had fallen in love with her after painting her in the nude.
