“Apollo Pursuing Daphne”, Tiepolo – description of the painting

Description of the picture:

Apollo chasing Daphne – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Canvas, oil. 68.8 x 87
Tiepolo is a representative of the Rococo style and, possibly, the last great painter of the Venetian school of painting.

The work “Apollo Pursuing Daphne” is considered to be quite moderate in size for the master, who frescoed the vast ceilings of the Italian palazzo. Tiepolo made a fascinating compositional picture for the story from Ovid’s Metamorphosis: the golden-eyed sun god Apollo, who is in love with young Daphne, rises from behind a hill, but he was late, the nymph asked protection from his persecution from her own father, the river god Peney. He heeded the pleas of his daughter, took away her hated appearance and forever turned the nymph into an evergreen laurel. Daphne’s brushes gradually become branches, beautiful hands will soon disappear, but so far she still retains her natural image. Next to her, acquiring a large vessel with pouring water, was his father.

Tiepolo’s painting is light, airy; the work is distinguished by a radiant delicate color, built on a combination of silver, reddish, golden yellow, pearl gray and blue tones. In the canvases of the Rococo style there is no display of tragic collisions, this fine art should have been pleasing to the eye. Therefore, the story of Apollo and Daphne is interpreted by the artist as a kind of funny scene in the spirit of Bush or Fragonard, where careless heroes are busy with games and entertainment."

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