''Apollo and Daphne'' is a c.1470–1480 oil on panel painting, attributed to Piero del Pollaiuolo and/or his brother

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

). William Coningham acquired it in Rome in 1845 and in 1876 Wynne Ellis left it to the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...

, where it still hangs. It shows

Daphne Daphne (; ; , , ), a figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in which she appears, but t ...

's transformation into a laurel tree to escape

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

in Ovid's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''. Its choice of wood as a support and its small dimensions mean that it was long mistaken as a fragment of a decorative

cassone A cassone (plural ''cassoni'') or marriage chest is a rich and showy Italian type of chest, which may be inlaid or carved, prepared with gesso ground then painted and gilded. ''Pastiglia'' was decoration in low relief carved or moulded in ...

. It was long attributed to Antonio but is now usually attributed to Piero. The background vegetation was previously brighter but is now irreversibly oxidized.Louise Govier, ''The National Gallery, guida per i visitatori'', Louise Rice, London 2009.

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* {{15C-painting-stub Paintings by Piero del Pollaiuolo Paintings in the National Gallery, London 1470s paintings Paintings of Apollo Paintings based on Metamorphoses Paintings by Antonio del Pollaiuolo

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Further reading

External links