The main source of the anecdotes about ancient painters, sculptors and architects is the Natural History of Pliny the Elder. The article focuses on the shaping of these stories from more approaches. The basis is the theory of the cultural memory. To broaden the scope of the analysis, Pliny's representation of the artists is compared with relevant passages from other writers. The paper determines the ancient types of the anecdotes of artist and tries to show the connection between the content and the age in which they were born.