Alberti on Plato

In Alberti's On Painting Alberti says that Plato achieved distinction in painting. (Page 62)

From what we know He didn't like painting and he thought that it should have no place in his republic (Book 10) because he thought that it was just an imitation and it took the philosopher further from the truth. He in fact downright hated it. You can see the  the link below for a better explanation of Plato's hatred:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/294194?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

I just thought this was interesting. I think it's really interesting that he excelled at painting even though he hated it. I guess it shows how important painting is to the world and people and solidifies the point that Alberti tries to make.