The Greek myth of Apollo and Daphne has long been scrutinized for the story’s portrayal and treatment of its main female character. Especially when viewed through a modern lens, the myth raises an important question: was Apollo’s pursuit of Daphne an act of love, or an act of violence?
Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s beloved sculpture Apollo and Daphne depicts the climactic scene of the story, just at the moment Daphne begins to turn into a laurel tree. This work is far from the only artistic depiction of its titular characters; in fact, many artists of the Baroque era chose this scene as the subject of their work, the works (of the same name) of Sir Peter Paul Rubens and Carlo Cignani being good examples (Even 145, 150). However, when compared to these counterparts, one can argue that Bernini’s sculpture in particular contains a more progressive representation of Daphne, falling closer in line with modern views of gender and consent. In Bernini’s piece, Daphne is presented as the star of her own tragic tale rather than as a mere object of desire in Apollo’s. We can see this by examining the work both in the context of female representation in the Baroque era, and formally, with the use of line, focal point, and mass in the piece.
Fig. 1. Bernini, Gian Lorenzo. Apollo and Daphne. 1625, Galleria Borghese, Rome. Photo courtesy of maItaly, http://maitaly.files.wordpress.com/.
To understand how Bernini’s piece differs from other portrayals of Apollo and Daphne, one must understand the climate in which he was working. The Baroque era was a time in which women’s perspectives were not given much space in the art world. At the time, career options available to women were very limited; often, the only two paths considered appropriate for a young woman were either to join a convent as a nun or to be married and produce children (Gotthardt). Due to this, very few women at this time were able to pursue a career in art. The discipline was dominated by men and, therefore, the male perspective, which often depicted women as meek and passive.
One notable exception was artist Artemisia Gentileschi, who rose to fame for her dynamic depictions of biblical women. Gentileschi’s work stood apart from that of her male counterparts in that her work almost exclusively celebrated authoritative and strong women. Though she gained popularity for her style, her works were often overshadowed by those of other, male artists. People struggled with the idea of a female artist, so much so that there were even instances in which her work was incorrectly attributed to her male student, Massimo Stanzione (Kukota). In 1616, Gentileschi was the first woman to be accepted into the Florence-based artist’s guild Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (Kukota). While this was a great achievement and a marked advancement for women in the world of art, it was very telling that a woman wasn’t made part of the guild until just nine years before Bernini sculpted Apollo & Daphne. This goes to show that in Bernini’s world of Baroque art, it was rare to find artwork made by women or from the perspective of a female heroine.
Yael Even, professor of art and art history at the University of Missouri, explores this idea of female representation further, specifically in art portraying Apollo and Daphne. In her essay, “Daphne (Without Apollo) Reconsidered: Some Disregarded Images of Sexual Pursuit in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art,” she brings to light several commonalities in the way the heroine is depicted, stating the following:
"Many visual interpretations of Daphne’s actual transformation from human to arboreal form seem to underscore Apollo’s reactions to it without so much as an imitation of hers. Even though they represent Daphne as she is beginning to change in order to escape the arms of Apollo, who has embraced her against her will…very seldom, if ever, in Italian Renaissance art is Daphne allowed to convey fully the physical and emotional pain that she may have suffered as a result of the metamorphosis itself. Nor is the sorrow of being forever implanted in one place, the humiliation of being appropriated as the tree of her divine but unwanted suitor, and the anguish of leaving behind everybody and everything dear to her either validated or even suggested." (Even 146)
Even correctly points out that both in the retelling of the myth and in artistic renderings of it, Daphne is often represented in such a way that her experience is portrayed as secondary to Apollo’s, if it’s considered at all.
This is where Bernini’s sculpture differs from other depictions of Daphne’s transformation. In Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, Daphne’s face is contorted in horror and anguish as the tips of her fingers begin to sprout into branches. While Apollo’s reaction to her transformation is apparent, Daphne’s own reaction is focused on just as much, if not more. Of the two of them, she by far wears the more dramatic expression. In addition, Daphne’s body language is that of intense discomfort and repulsion at Apollo’s touch. This is in direct contrast to the other pieces that Even analyzed, which “frequently characterize[d] [Daphne] as indifferent, placid, and content” with her transformation (Even 146). In her article, she even goes as far as to say that “at times, [the pieces] seem to suggest misleadingly that she actually flowers to his touch instead of shying away from it in horror” (Even 146). It is due to these specificities with which Bernini portrays Daphne that I believe his retelling of the event is much more progressive and inclusive of Daphne’s experience than many other artists of his time.
Fig. 2. Bernini, Gian Lorenzo. Apollo and Daphne. 1625, Galleria Borghese, Rome. Photo courtesy of Depositphotos, https://depositphotos.com/photos/apollo-daphne.html.
There are formal aspects of the piece that support this conclusion as well. One of the most apparent is the use of line and form in the piece. When following the line of Apollo’s gaze, the drape of Daphne’s hair, and the curve of Daphne’s arching body, we are led directly to Daphne’s face and her expression of terror. Additional lines create this perception of movement in the direction away from Apollo, almost as if to make the audience feel the desperation with which Daphne fought to escape him. The line of Daphne’s arms, raised towards the heavens, show her helplessness in her frantic plea to her father to save her from her pursuer. Nearly everything about the way this sculpture is made is focused on Daphne and her emotions in this climactic moment. This is in direct contrast to other artistic portrayals of the myth, in which Apollo’s despair is at the forefront. By making these choices in his sculpting, Bernini is choosing to represent this myth from a more female-centric perspective.
Another way that Bernini uses his sculpting technique to tell the story from Daphne’s perspective is his use of mass and space. The abundant negative space carved in between Apollo and Daphne lends itself to a feeling of emotional distance between the two of them, rather than intimacy or romance, which helps to communicate Daphne’s lack of reciprocity of Apollo’s feelings. In addition, Bernini’s choice to give Daphne more height and mass in the piece pushes her into the focal point and forces her into the spotlight, rather than remaining a minor character in Apollo’s conquest. The majority of the space of the piece is occupied by Daphne; and the piece’s prominent upward movement is driven by her. This spatial largeness of Daphne compared to Apollo mirrors how her perspective is focused on over his.
Fig. 3. Bernini, Gian Lorenzo. Apollo and Daphne. 1625, Galleria Borghese, Rome. Photo courtesy of Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Apollo-and-Daphne.
Above all, Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne remains a beautiful depiction of a popular myth, and its decision to focus on the event through the lens of Daphne’s eyes rather than Apollo’s gave the female character a voice that had long been overdue. Rather than telling the story of a lovesick hero who lost his beloved and then devoted himself to her in whatever way he could, Bernini tells the tragic tale of a frightened woman, who, upon asking for help, is met not with the reprimand of her aggressor, but with her own cruel punishment.
Note: A previous version of this essay was submitted as an assignment for a HUM 1010 course at Utah Valley University. The original version can be found here.
References
Bernini, Gian Lorenzo. Apollo and Daphne. 1625, Galleria Borghese, Rome.
Even, Yael. “Daphne (Without Apollo) Reconsidered: Some Disregarded Images of Sexual
Pursuit in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art.” Studies in Iconography, vol. 18, 1997, pp. 143–159. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23924072.
Gotthardt, Alexa. “Behind the Fierce, Assertive Paintings of Baroque Master Artemisia
Gentileschi.” Artsy, 8 June 2018, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-baroque-master
-artemisia-gentileschi.
Kukota, Irene. “Artemisia and Her Time.” Meer, 18 Jan. 2021, www.meer.com/en/64629-
artemisia-and-her-time.
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