The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Apollo and Daphne

Apollo and Daphne

c. 1700
(Italian, 1656–1740)
Italy, Florence, 17th century
terracotta
Overall: 55.5 x 34.2 x 21.9 cm (21 7/8 x 13 7/16 x 8 5/8 in.)
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1992.230
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Soldani shows Daphne in the process of turning into a tree to escape the persistent Apollo.

Description

Apollo, the Greek and Roman god of the sun and the arts, fell in love with the nymph Daphne. Chased to a riverbank, Daphne prayed to her father, the river god, Peneus, for help. At the moment Apollo reached out to touch her, she transformed into a laurel tree, branches and roots sprouting from her body. This work reveals key preoccupations of artists working in Italy in the 1600s: novel, active compositions; fleeting moments; and transformation from one physical form into another. Soldani based this work on a large-scale marble sculpture from 1622–25 by the Roman artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
  • Private collection (Newport, Rhode Island) until 1959
    1959 - 1990 Mrs. Elizabeth Parke Firestone, 1897-1990 (Newport, Rhode Island), upon her death, held in trust by the estate.
    1990 - 1991 Estate of Elizabeth Parke Firestone [sold, Christie's, New York, 23 March 1991, lot no. 840, to Daniel Katz., Ltd.).
    1991 - 1992 Daniel Katz., Ltd., sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1992.
  • Morazzoni, Giuseppe, and Saul Levy. Le Porcellane Italiane. Milano: Görlich, 1960. Reproduced: Vol. II, pl. 233
    Lankheit, Klaus. Florentinische Barockplastik; die Kunst am Hofe der letzten Medici, 1670-1743. [München]: F. Bruckmann, 1962. Mentioned: P. 136-137
    Lankheit, Klaus. Die Modellsammlung der Porzellanmanufaktur Doccia: ein Dokument italienischer Barockplastik. München, Germany: Bruckmann, 1982. Reproduced: p. 23, no. 31
    Laverack, Peter. Daniel Katz Ltd., 1968-1993: A Catalogue Celebrating Twenty-Five Years of Dealing in European Sculpture and Works of Art, in Two Sections. London, United Kingdom: Daniel Katz Ltd, 1992. Reproduced: p. 33
    Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1992." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LXXX, no. 2 (February, 1993):39-79. Reproduced: p. 56, no. 25
    Avery, Charles. "Soldani's Bronze Reliefs of 'Summer' and 'Autumn': New Documentation and Observations on Their Date & Patronage." The Register of the Spencer Museum of Art VII, no. 1 & 2 (1995):1-17. Reproduced: P. 8, fig. 10
  • Artlens Exhibition 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24, 2017-May 29, 2019).
    Selected Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 9-April 11, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Apollo and Daphne|url=false|author=Massimiliano Soldani|year=c. 1700|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.230