Description:

ANTONIO GARELLA (Italian, b. 1864)
An Extraordinary Italian 19th Century Carved Carrara Marble Sculpture of
“APOLLO & DAPHNE” By Professor Antonio Garella, Raised on a Verde-Green Alps
Carved Marble Pedestal. Signed: A. Garella

Sculpture Height: 60 inches (152.4 cm)
Sculpture Width: 33 ½ inches (85.1 cm)
Pedestal Height: 34 ½ inches (87.6 cm)

Ref: A679

The original work, a life-size marble sculpture, begun by Bernini at the age of twenty-four and
executed between 1622 and 1625, has always been housed in the same villa, but originally stood
on a lower and narrower base set against the wall near the stairs. Consequently anyone entering
the room first saw Apollo from behind, then the fleeing nymph appeared in the process of
metamorphosis: brak covers most of her body, but according to Ovid's lines, Apollo's hand
can still feel her heart beating beneath it. Thus the scene ends by Daphne being transformed
into a laurel tree to escape her divine aggressor.

The presence of this pagan myth in the Cardinal's villa was justified by a moral couplet composed
in Latin by Cardinal Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII) and engraved on the cartouche on
the base, which says: "Those who love to pursue fleeting forms of pleasure, in the end find only
leaves and bitter berries in their hands".

In 1785, when Marcantonio IV Borghese decided to place the work in the centre of the room,
Vincenzo Pacetti designed the present base by using the original pieces, adding plaster to the plinth
and another cartouche bearing the Borghese eagle, sculpted by Lorenzo Cardelli.

The story of Apollo and Daphne is also taken from the writings of Ovid. Apollo is one of the
12 Greek gods of Olympus. In Greek mythology, he was the son of Zeus, ruler of the gods,
and usually stood for the rational and civilised side of man. He is the counterpart of Dionysus
(Bacchus in Roman mythology) who stood for uncontrolled passion, emotion and the darker
spirits of mankind. In this instance, Apollo has been bewitched by Cupid, to fall in love with
Daphne. As he pursues her, she prays to her father, the river god, Peneus, who turns her into
a laurel tree. As an allegory, the story symbolises the triumph of Chastity over Love.