Apollo

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

This engraving depicts Apollo as the radiant sun god. With fire-like hair, he strides through rolling waves of clouds, while in the background his chariot makes its daily trip across the sky. The Latin text that forms his halo translates: “With its aureole and shining ray, the bright Sun drives away the darkness and lights the whole earth.” Apollo’s excessively muscled body reflects an aspect of Mannerism, a stylistic trend in the mid- to late 1500s that exaggerated natural qualities. By over embellishing Apollo’s musculature, Goltzius transformed an athletic male body into a supernatural one.

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