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Apollo Flaying Marsyas

Apollo Flaying Marsyas

c. 1691–1700

Giovanni Battista Foggini

(Italian, 1652–1725)

Bronze

Height: 59.8 cm (23 9/16 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2023.2

Did you know?

The lyre with which Apollo outperformed Marsyas can be seen between his feet, cast down upon his victory.

Description

According to myth, the overconfident satyr (half-goat, half-man) Marsyas challenged Apollo, god of the arts, to a musical duel. The defeated Marsyas was tied to a tree and skinned alive in punishment for his pride. Foggini’s bronze captures the moment after Apollo’s victory as the bound Marsyas cries out in agony while the god makes the first incision. The satyr’s anguish is echoed by the gnarled branches; Apollo’s wrath is manifested in his billowing drapery.

See also
Collection: 
Sculpture
Type of artwork: 
Sculpture
Medium: 
Bronze

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