The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (385 page)

Praxiteles
.

Greek sculptor, active in the mid 4th cent. BC. His fame among Greek sculptors, to posterity as in his own time, is second only to that of
Phidias
. Various works by him described by ancient authors are known through Roman copies, and a marble statue of
Hermes and the Infant Dionysus
, found at Olympia in 1877 in the position where it was described by
Pausanias
(now in the Olympia Museum), is considered by many authorities to be from his own hand. If this is so, it can be claimed as the only surviving original statue by a Greek sculptor of the first rank. Certainly it has a delicacy in the modelling of forms and a subtlety of finish far removed from the workmanship seen in most Roman copies, and it shows the sensuous charm and gentle grace for which he was renowned. In antiquity his most famous work was the
Aphrodite of Cnidus
, known through several copies. This much imitated work was the first free-standing life-size female nude in Greek art and
Pliny
described it as ‘the finest statue not only by Praxiteles but in the whole world’. Praxiteles' influence was profound. The tenderness and intimacy of his work marked a move away from the remote idealization of the
Classical
period, to an art more concerned with human emotion, and his graceful, sinuous poses, with the figure often shown leaning on a support, became part of the general currency of
Hellenistic
sculptors. His preference for working in marble made the material popular again after it had long been eclipsed by bronze.

 
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Precisionism
.

A movement in American painting, originating
c.
1915 and flourishing in the inter-war period, particularly the 1920s, in which urban and especially industrial subjects were depicted with a very smooth, and precise technique, creating clear, sharply defined, sometimes quasi-
Cubist
forms. The terms ‘Cubist-Realists’, ‘Immaculates’, and ‘Sterilists’ have also been applied to Precisionist painters. They were not a formal group, but they often exhibited together.
Demuth
,
O'Keeffe
, and
Sheeler
were among the leading figures. In Precisionist painting the light is often brilliantly clear (although George Ault (1891–1948) was best known for his night scenes) and frequently forms are chosen for their geometric interest. Human presence is excluded and there is no social comment. Rather, the American industrial and technological scene is endowed with an air of epic grandeur. The degree of Cubist influence varied greatly. Some of Sheeler's paintings are in an almost photographically realistic style, whereas other works are semi-abstract. Precisionism was influential in both imagery and technique on American
Magic Realism
and
Pop art
.

 
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(
c.
1455–after 1508).
Milanese painter. He was appointed court painter to the
Sforza
in 1482 and worked mainly as a portraitist, but he is chiefly remembered for his association, together with his elder half-brother
Evangelista da Preda
(d. after 1490), with
Leonardo
da Vinci in the 1483 contract for
The Virgin of the Rocks
in the National Gallery, London. The wings of this altarpiece, depicting angels with musical instruments, are of much lower quality than the centre panel and are presumed to be by Ambrogio and/or Evangelista . The National Gallery also has a portrait by Ambrogio (
Profile Portrait of a Lady
,
c.
1500), showing his rather wooden imitation of Leonardo's style.

 
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predella
.

A subsidiary picture forming an appendage to a larger one, especially a small painting or series of paintings beneath the main part of an
altarpiece
.

 
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(1859–1924).
American painter, mainly in watercolour. He was a member of the
Eight
, but stood somewhat apart from the rest of the group. He was a Bostonian and spent much of his career travelling and painting abroad, and it was only in the last few years of his life that he lived in New York, the centre of the Eight's activities. The main thing he had in common with the other members was a desire to move American art away from academic stagnation, and his work is notable for its brilliant decorative colour. His paintings were often of people enjoying themselves in innocent pleasures (Central Park in 1903, Met. Mus., New York, 1903). He was one of the first American artists to be influenced by
Post-Impressionism
, notably in the way in which he emphasized flat pattern rather than illusionistic space. In 1913 he showed seven works at the
Armory Show
, and at this time stood out as one of the most stylistically advanced American artists.

 
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