Woman typical for baroque art this caught moment in time figures in motion.
Marble sculpture of nymph turning into a tree.
Apollo on one leg the other leg behind him.
As ovid told the story in his metamorphoses when the beautiful nymph daphne finally escaped the pursuing apollo by turning into a laurel tree the roman god of music and poetry pledged his.
If you look at the sculpture for the first time you will see apollo chasing daphne.
And later the legs begin to grow into the ground.
A beautiful romantic marble sculpture statuette depicting a classical water nymph.
Between 1622 and 1625 gian lorenzo bernini sculpted a baroque life sized marble statue entitled apollo and daphne apollo clutches daphne s hip pursuing her as she flees to escape him.
But after a while you begin to notice the magical transformation of a living being into a tree.
In front of you is still a beautiful nymph but hands are already beginning to turn into twigs and leaves.
And so it is at this moment of transformation what a perfect subject for bernini who transforms this rock of marble into something that looks as if it s in motion and it s living flesh.
Housed in the galleria borghese in rome the work depicts the climax of the story of apollo and daphne phoebus and daphne in ovid s metamorphoses.