Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, c. 1622-1625, Borghese Gallery, Rome. Love story between Apollo and Daphne.
Qianwen Shen
Among the many gods in ancient Greek mythology, Apollo can be regarded as the most dazzling star. "He is the God of all speech acts, including songs and poetry" (La Fond 01:17), and was known to the world for his outstanding appearance and talent in mythology, and was also one of the most worshiped gods. In the sculpture "Apollo and Daphne" by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Apollo is a crucial figure because his pursuit of Daphne represents the power of desire and contrasts Apollo's character.
As the embodiment of beauty, intellect, and artistic inspiration, Apollo is often associated with the pursuit of perfection and the goal of knowledge. In contrast, Apollo, such a perfect god, was so miserable in his pursuit of love, not because of any fault of his own, but because he had offended the winged boy, Cupid. The marble sculpture tells the story of Apollo's pursuit of Daphne, who turned into a laurel tree to preserve her virginity. The inspiration for "Apollo and Daphne" comes from the rich tradition of Greek mythology. "Bernini created the Apollo and Daphne over three years, with some interruptions, beginning in the summer of 1622, when he was twenty-three years old" (Bolland 1). This sculpture was a great success, became an iconic image of Baroque art, and is considered one of Bernini's most significant works. It is also a testament to Bernini's mastery of marble, his skill at capturing movement and emotion, and his innovative approach to the classical tradition. It is now displayed at the Borghese Gallery in Rome.
In this sculpture, the young man Apollo runs after the maiden, Daphne, reaching out to take her in his arms. Daphne cried out in horror, and as she turned back, her flowing hair and outstretched fingers turned into leaves, and her long straight legs grew into trunks planted in the earth. Cupid's golden arrow was so powerful that Apollo still loved Daphne even though she had become a laurel tree. According to what we learned in class, "Daphne turned into a laurel to escape Apollo, and because Apollo is so deeply in love with Daphne, he took the laurel as his symbol" (La Fond 11:39). Thus, with the blessing of God, the laurel tree was evergreen. Apollo used its branches and leaves to weave a crown that became his symbol.
One similarity between Bernini's sculpture and the myth is the portrayal of Apollo as a young, handsome god with flowing hair and a muscular physique, which is consistent with how Apollo is often depicted as a youthful, idealized figure of masculine beauty in art and literature. However, Apollo's desire for Daphne reveals a different side of his character. His pursuit of Daphne is not driven by a passion for knowledge or artistic inspiration but by an overwhelming physical attraction.
I haven’t had the chance to look at the sculpture in real life, but in all pictures, no matter from which point of view, both Apollo and Daphne are displayed beautifully. The whole sculpture shows the tragic ending of the love between Apollo and Daphne, but the sculpture depicts the beauty of the shape. And in my opinion, this is probably the essence of Baroque art; it does not exceed the scope of harmonious beauty, does not cause pain to people, but still highlights the beauty of form. And of course, this is also attributed to the artist Bernini conquering marble confidence and exquisite carving skills so that the cold hard marble could turn into a soft body and new life.
"Apollo and Daphne" twists and turns, a bizarre love story, became a common painting theme in the history of western art. But if there is one of the most iconic works of art on the subject, it is Gian Lorenzo Bernini's marble sculpture Apollo and Daphne.
Yinglin Zhen
The legend of Apollo and Daphne has its roots in Greek mythology. It served as the model for Bernini's magnificent sculpture of Apollo and Daphne in baroque marble. The Apollo and Daphne Ovid poems in Book 1 of the renowned Metamorphosis contain the story.
This endearing myth describes the platonic love between the god Apollo and the lovely nymph Daphne. The story's main idea is that Apollo was punished by the god of love, Eros because he had made fun of him earlier. Apollo was struck by a golden arrow from Eros, and this made him fall in love with Daphne. But he also used a lead-tipped arrow to shoot Daphne. Daphne will always reject Apollo because of the lead. But Apollo essentially hounded her up until the point where she begged her father to intervene. Dad transformed her into a laurel tree as a result. In Greek mythology, it was uncommon or impossible for a nymph or mortal woman to reject a god's love; nonetheless, Daphne did so, even to the point of losing her life in the process. But Apollo persisted in his obsession. He bestowed on the tree the gift of infinity, which is essentially why the laurel tree is an evergreen.
According to Greek mythology, Daphne was a nymph who avoided marriage. She actually preferred to spend her time playing around in the woods because she was a bit of a tomboy. Her father eventually gave in to her wish to keep her virginity. Therefore, the concepts of lust and chastity have been seen as central to the tale of Daphne and Apollo. The conflict between Daphne's chastity and Apollo's sexual yearning has been seen in the myth of Apollo and Daphne. Daphne is spared by her metamorphosis and confinement to the Laurel tree, which can be interpreted as an act of perpetual chastity since Apollo lustfully pursues her. Daphne is compelled to give up her body and transform into a laurel tree as her sole means of escaping Apollo's relentless sexual demands. So Apollo makes himself a wreath out of her laurel branches, making her virginity, a cultural symbol for himself and other poets and artists.
Between 1622 and 1625, the Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini created the Apollo and Daphne Baroque life-size marble statue. The artwork can be found in Rome's Galleria Borghese. Astonishing sculpture constructed completely of marble. The sculpture, located in the Villa Borghese, was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The thing about it is that it is highly detailed, much like many of his important works that the Pope Has commissioned from him. The wonderful mythos around the actual old Greek tale is paralleled by the stone's incisions and the characters' overall expressions. We may observe that while Daphne runs away from Apollo, he clings to her hip. Daphne is seen halfway through her metamorphosis into the laurel tree with her arms already morphing into its branches as she escapes and begs her father to spare her from Apollo. Apollo is wearing a laurel crown. It is thought that the Apollo and Daphne sculpture by Bernini planned it to be seen from the right side. The viewer can thus see both of their responses at once. It is 96 inches tall and shows Daphne's transformation into the laurel tree.
Demeter, the Greek goddess of fertility and agriculture, is depicted as having a close relationship with women, feminine wrath, and women's festivals among all the lectures and other gods. Her most well-known mythological tale, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, tells the tale of Persephone's kidnapping. The daughter of Demeter, Persephone, was forcibly married off to Hades. Zeus orchestrated the entire event without informing Demeter or Persephone. Demeter looked for her daughter for a while, but she was never found. Only women were permitted to celebrate Thesmophoria, a celebration honoring Demeter's relationship with Persephone and emulating the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. According to legend, the women who celebrated this memorial forbade sexual activity throughout the festival. They did not wear flower garlands, which may have been an homage to the day of Persephone's kidnapping, and they also avoided men. Thesmophoria as a phenomenon undoubtedly relates to agriculture and fertility, but it also highlights Demeter's relationship to women and how it was believed that women had control over both fertility and agriculture. In contrast to most fields, agriculture, and human reproduction gave women legitimate agency. They were acknowledged as being crucial to both organic processes. There are certain parallels between the two stories that demonstrate the autonomy of women in their sexual and reproductive decisions as well as their right to defend their virginity from males.
Apollo and Daphne is still captivating almost 400 years later because of its formal brilliance and its frightening, incredibly current subject matter. Evidently, this narrative has a number of moral lessons to teach us. It is stated that Apollo's tale will help you learn how to let go. According to legend, Daphne's story serves as a warning to the stubborn.
Works Cited
Apollo and Daphne • the Greek myth story of Daphne and Apollo. Greek Gods & Goddesses. (2022, February 4). Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/myths/apollo-and-daphne/
Bernini, Author: Gian Lorenzo. “Apollo and Daphne by Bernini.” Galerie Borghèse, 30 June 2022, https://borghese.gallery/collection/sculpture/apollo-and-daphne.html.
Bolland, Andrea. “Desiderio and Diletto: Vision, Touch, and the Poetics of Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne.” The Art Bulletin, vol. 82, no. 2, 2000, pp. 309–30. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3051379. Accessed 18 Feb. 2023.
Barolsky, Paul. “BERNINI AND OVID.” Source: Notes in the History of Art, vol. 16, no. 1, 1996, pp. 29–31. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23204950. Accessed 18 Feb. 2023.
La Fond, Marie. “UW Canvas Login.” Canvas Login, https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1619626/pages/lesson-4-video-lectures?module_item_id=17175838.
Metamorphoses (Kline) 1, the Ovid Collection, Univ. of Virginia E-Text Center, https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph.htm#488381106.
La Fond, Marie. “Bows, Beats, Bearing Prophecies: Apollo” Greek and Roman Mythology. University of Washington, June 2021, https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1619626/pages/lesson-4-video-lectures?module_item_id=17175838
Accessed 17 February 2023.