Apollo and Daphne
c.1627
Imagine the ultimate unwanted pursuit: Apollo, struck by Cupid's golden arrow of love, chases the nymph Daphne, who was hit with a lead arrow of aversion. Here, we see the tragic climax where Daphne begs her father, the river god Peneus (the bearded man reclining with the water jug), to save her. He answers by turning her into a laurel tree—you can literally see leaves sprouting from her fingers and bark taking over her skin! Meanwhile, the mischievous cupids who caused this chaos hover nearby, and Apollo's lyre lies abandoned on the ground, a symbol of his interrupted music.
Location: National Gallery, London
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