This gallery is of the Greek and Roman God of Music, Poetry, and especially Art. This gallery will provide various looks at not only the different mediums of art depicting Apollo, but also the different representations of Apollo as God of various forms of art. The goal of this gallery is to be informative and to give a broad look at the art that the God of Art himself inspired.
This is a marble statue of Apollo Crowning Himself by Antonio Canova. In this statue you can see the god-like physical complex of Apollo, and his signature lyre. The attention to detail in this marble statue is amazing and almost makes it feel lifelike. The cloth next to Apollo almost looks like real cloth draped over the marble statue.
One of the earliest pieces of art depicting Apollo is Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus. This mountain is important to Apollo because it is home of the Muses. Although there is not much detail in the characters depicted, the line drawing is gorgeous and captures the emotion of the scene, with the musicians and others laying about.
Relief under Apollo, attributed to Willem de Keyser, 1652, From the collection of: Royal Palace Amsterdam
This marble plaque shows instruments nailed under the globe allude to Apollo, not only worshiped as the God of Art and Music, but also God of the Sun. The detail in each individual instrument is what stands out most about this marble relief. This is another early tribute to Apollo, dating back to 1652.
The Musical Contest between Apollo and Marsyas, Cornelis van Poelenburgh, 1630, From the collection of: Hallwyl Museum
This painting of the Musical Contest between Apollo and Marsyas depicts the legendary competition between the God of Music Apollo and Marsyas, a double flute player who claimed to be better than Apollo. The surrounding audience is the Muses, who were to judge the competition. There is beautiful detail in this painting, and the bright colors really bring out the emotion of the painting.
Apollo and Diana, Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1525 - 1527, From the collection of: Royal Collection Trust, UK
This painting depicts Apollo and Diana; Apollo with a drawn bow and Diana sitting atop a deer. Diana is Apollo's twin, and is Goddess of the Hunt along with other things such as the moon and childbirth. This painting is a beautiful depiction of the twins and their hunting nature, which is a different than Apollo and his Muses. The detail in the background as well as the characters in the foreground really bring this painting to life.
Apollo and Diana Attacking the Children of Niobe, Jacques-Louis David, 1772, From the collection of: Dallas Museum of Art
This painting depicts Apollo and Diana Attacking the Children of Niobe, while Niobe is protecting the last of her children. Apollo and Diana are told by their mother, Latona, to kill Niobe's children, because Niobe refused to pray to Latona and bragged about her own wealth instead. There is great dread and realism in this picture, with Niobe's already dead children stuck with arrows being reigned down by Apollo, who wasn't always depicted as an artist or musician.
Apollo killing the Cyclops, Domenichino and assistants, 1616-18, From the collection of: The National Gallery, London
This painting is of Apollo killing the Cyclops whom makes Zeus' thunderbolts, which Zeus used to kill Apollo's son Asclepius. This painting although credited to Domenichino and his assistants was mostly done by his assistants, and only the dwarf in the lower right can be credited to Domenichino. The tapestry around the painting means it was supposed to trick the viewer as seeing the painting as tapestry behind the dwarf.
Apollo Killing Coronis, 1590/1690, From the collection of: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
This amazing drawing is of Apollo Killing Coronis, who claimed to love Apollo but was caught cheating by his raven who is also depicted next to Apollo's bow. Although there is no color, the shading is beautifully done and captures the scene and the emotion very well. The details in the shadowing are what really stand out, as the tiny lines drawn and formed to create the greater picture.
Apollo Killing the Python, 1665, From the collection of: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
This image depicts Apollo Killing the Python. Apollo was given a silver bow at a young age by Hephaestus who made the young god decide to go kill the Python. After Apollo killed the Python he was so filled with joy that he took out his lyre and played a song of victory, filling those around him with joy. This is the moment where Apollo became the God of Music and this is why this image is a very important drawing. There is a lot of detail which depicts the joyful emotion of Apollo and those in the background, and the death of the Python.
Apollo and the Muses, Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée), 1674, From the collection of: The J. Paul Getty Museum
This last image is a drawing that depicts Apollo and the Muses. This last piece is to demonstrate how the God of Music and Art among other things and his Muses were muses themselves being the subject of many classic art pieces. The detail in the muses gives each muse their own personality and expressions as they are creating together and worshiping Apollo.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
