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A series of over-lifesize marble statues commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese for his villa in Rome announced Bernini’s novel style and established his role as the foremost sculptor in Italy. One of these works, the Apollo and Daphne (1622–24; Galleria Borghese, Rome), illustrates the typically Baroque theme of metamorphosis.
Dr. Steven Zucker: [0:04] We’re in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, and we’re looking at one of Bernini’s first major commissions, “Apollo and Daphne.” Dr. Beth Harris: [0:12] This is a fabulous story of Eros, the god of love, causing quite a bit of mischief. Dr. Zucker: [0:18] People may know Eros as Cupid.
Apollo and Daphne was the last of a number of important works commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese from Gian Lorenzo Bernini that helped to define Baroque sculpture. Thereafter, Bernini served a succession of popes.
- Sculpture, Marble
- A Brief Introduction to Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- History of Apollo and Daphne by Bernini
- Description
- Mythology Behind The Daphne and Apollo Statue
- Critical Reception
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was said to be a remarkable artist from a very young age. He was apparently only eight years of age when he carved a head from stone that amazed everyone who had seen it. A few years later Pope Paul V would see his works and declare that he hoped the young boy would be the Michelangelo of his generation. This would not be far f...
The Daphne and Apollo statue was the final of a series of commissions from Cardinal Scipione Borghese during the early career of Bernini. The Cardinal had given the previous sculpture that Bernini produced for him to Ludovico Ludovisi, and so required another one for himself. Work on the Daphne and Apollo statue commenced in 1622, with a large port...
The statue can be viewed from many various angles, yet Bernini had designed it to be viewed from the right based on where it had been located by the doorway. When viewed from that angle, observers could see Daphne and Apollo’s reactions to the situation at the same time, allowing the viewer to understand the scenario without having to walk around i...
The god of poetry and light, Apollo, was one day teasing Cupid about his youthfulness, saying that he was too young to be playing around with dangerous weapons like bows and arrows. This angered Cupid, who poked Apollo with the arrow to exact revenge upon him by making him fall in love with Daphne, a nymph who lived in a river nearby. The nymph was...
Even though Bernini’s reputation and fame began to decline considerably after his passing, the appreciation of the Daphne and Apollo statue has persisted through the centuries. IN 1839, for example, a traveler from France commented that the sculpture was astounding for both its elaborate nature and its execution, adding that he felt the arrangement...
- ( Head of Content, Editor, Art Writer )
- 28 November 1680
- 7 December 1598
- Italian
Seventeenth-century commentators attributed lifelike qualities of speech and movement to Bernini's sculptures. This article focuses on his Apollo and Daphne, the work that established his international reputation.
- Genevieve Warwick
- 2004
Feb 18, 2024 · Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculptural masterpiece, "Apollo and Daphne," tells the tragic story of the pursuit and transformation of the nymph Daphne into a laurel tree to escape the advances of Apollo, the god of music, poetry, and light. The scene frozen in marble captures Apollo reaching out to Daphne just as she begins her transformation.
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Jun 29, 2004 · The young Bernini's lifesize Apollo and Daphne, commissioned by Scipione for his villa, was the piece that made both sculptor and patron famous (plate 1.4). Baldinucci relates that: 1.4. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Apollo and Daphne, 1622–25.
