''Apollo and Daphnis'' is a c.1483 mythological painting by

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ea ...

. It was sold to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in Paris in 1883, where it still hangs and in whose catalogue it was known as ''Apollo and Marsyas''. By the 1880s it had become misattributed to

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

. It one of the most notable works commissioned from the artist by

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...

. In the background is a rural scene with a city or castle, a three-arch bridge, trees typical of Perugino, hills and a river. The two nude figures in the foreground allude to that in ancient Greek and Roman art - this and the other classical references demonstrate how the work is intended to be decoded by the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

classical elite of Florence. The standing

contrapposto ''Contrapposto'' () is an Italian term that means "counterpoise". It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the ...

figure is the god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

, carrying a baton in his left hand and with a bow and quiver behind him. His pose draws on that of Hermes in a sculpture of Hermes and Dionysius by

Praxiteles Praxiteles (; el, Πραξιτέλης) of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attica sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubita ...

, now best known from the copy '' Hermes and the Infant Dionysus'' rediscovered in the 19th century. The identity of the seated flute-playing figure on the left is debated - it may be

Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe ('' aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...

, but that character is usually depicted as a

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...

and so it may instead by

Daphnis In Greek mythology, Daphnis (; grc, Δάφνις, from , ''daphne'', "Bay Laurel") was a Sicilian shepherd who was said to be the inventor of pastoral poetry. Family According to tradition, he was the son of Hermes and a nymph, despite which ...

, a young shepherd who died of love for Apollo. Daphnis is the Greek form of the name Laurus, possibly linking the work to Lorenzo de' Medici. His pose draws on a sculpture of Hermes by

Lysippus Lysippos (; grc-gre, Λύσιππος) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic p ...

, best known from the '' Seated Hermes'' discovered in 1758.

References

Bibliography

* Vittoria Garibaldi, « Perugino », in ''Pittori del Rinascimento'', Florence, Scala, 2004 (). * Pierluigi De Vecchi and Elda Cerchiari, ''I tempi dell'arte'', vol. 2, Milan, Bompiani, 1999 (). * Stefano Zuffi, ''Il Quattrocento'', Milan, Electa, 2004 ().

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apollo and Marsyas 1483 paintings Paintings by Pietro Perugino

Paintings in the Louvre by Italian artists

See also

References

Bibliography

External links