Apollo pursuing Daphne
- Artist: Domenichino
- Date: 1616-18
- Medium: fresco, transferred to canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the "Apollo pursuing Daphne" by Domenichino. Painted in 1616-18, it's a beautiful example of Baroque art from Italy. The scene depicts Apollo, identifiable by the golden rays around his head, chasing after Daphne, a river nymph with whom he has fallen in love. But Daphne rejects his advances and, rather than being caught, she transforms into a laurel tree - a nod to her sacred connection to poetry.
As part of a larger series of ten frescoes originally commissioned for the Stanza di Apollo at the Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, this painting shows one of several stories from Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses. Although Domenichino was responsible for designing these scenes, much of the actual painting appears to have been left to his assistants.
Look closely and you'll see that the style is reminiscent of a tapestry, with an embroidered border adding to its ornate feel. This piece would have originally adorned one of the walls in the Stanza di Apollo, a temple dedicated to the arts where sensual desire was transformed into poetry.
See it in person
Apollo pursuing Daphne hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
