Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne: A Baroque Masterpiece
Apollo and Daphne: A Baroque Masterpiece
Apollo and Daphne is an Italian Baroque sculpture created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini between 1622 and 1625. This life-size marble sculpture is housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. It represents the myth of Daphne, whose name in Greek means “laurel.” She was a nymph, the daughter of the river god Peneus, who flows through the region of Thessaly. The god Apollo, struck by an arrow from Eros, fell in love with her, but she did not reciprocate his feelings and evaded him. Apollo pursued her relentlessly, and she fled into the mountains to escape him. In her desperation, she implored her father, the river god Peneus, to transform her into a laurel tree. Her feet took root, and her limbs became the leafy branches of the tree, which from that moment on was sacred to Apollo and became his symbol.
The transformation is recounted by Ovid in his Metamorphoses. This myth illustrates the origin of one of the typical symbols of the god: the laurel wreath. Bernini captures Daphne’s transformation with intense emotion, portraying the different stages of her metamorphosis. Like another of his works, The Rape of Proserpina, the sculpture invites us to interact with it. Viewed from behind Apollo, Daphne’s figure is hidden, showing only the tree she is becoming. As we move around the statue, we witness the nymph’s metamorphosis. The contrast of elements and the use of chiaroscuro reflect Bernini’s inspiration from Hellenistic sculpture.
Also, in the Hellenistic period, Apollo was often perceived as an androgynous, young, and slender boy, with almost feminine styling in statues. Although Greek representations of Apollo preached the virtue of *sophrosyne* (moderation and sobriety), this statue shows him desperately chasing love in vain. This sculpture was inspired by the *Apollo Belvedere* of Leochares. The composition is done in a plane-relief style, full of dynamism and blurring. Daphne’s cry of horror and Apollo’s perplexed face show a contrast of attitudes and emotions, reflecting the artist’s interest in the representation of feelings.
Caravaggio’s Calling of St. Matthew: A Study in Light and Shadow
This was Bernini’s first monumental commission, and it gives rise to two of the greatest achievements of the artist. The Calling of St. Matthew is a painting that depicts the story told in the Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 9:9). It is structured around two parallel planes: the upper, occupied only by a window, and the lower, which represents the precise moment in which Christ, pointing to Matthew, calls him to the apostolate.
The saint is seated at a table with a group of people dressed as Caravaggio’s contemporaries, as in a tavern scene. In a sense, the most plebeian inhabitants of the table of Levi, almost natural size, are the equivalent, if not shaped by those in other paintings by Caravaggio. The fact that they are dressed like people of the painter’s time, and that the paintings are realistic, without any idealization, conveys the artist’s perception of the actuality of the scene, their intimate involvement represented at the event, while a totally unhistorical just put Christ and St. Peter himself wrapped in a timeless tunic.
In this painting, the brightness and the window with canvas appear to situate the table indoors. Christ brings the true light into this dark space of tax collectors. To increase the dramatic tension of the image and focus the viewer’s attention on the group of figures, Caravaggio uses the technique of immersing the scene in darkness, broken by rays of white light. This highlights gestures, hands, or parts of clothing, leaving the rest almost invisible. This painting thus reflects the collision of two worlds: the ineluctable power of immortal faith and the worldly atmosphere of Levi, who is leaning on his money, ignoring Jesus. Jesus pierces the scene with a beam of light, making no apparent effort, a hand gesture that exerts a sublime look without muscularity. Jesus’ bare feet represent classical simplicity, in contrast to the dandified figures. Being barefoot may also symbolize holiness, as if he is standing on holy ground. The dialogue of gestures between Christ, Peter, and Matthew holds intense and symbolic value in the *Calling*. Caravaggio’s audience would have seen the resemblance between Jesus’ gesture towards Matthew and God’s gesture awakening Adam in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. This would make Christ the *new Adam*. In line with Christ’s left arm, it seems that Matthew is invited to follow him into the world.