Cleveland Museum of Art

Apollo

Hendrick Goltzius

Date

1588

Medium

engraving

Culture

Netherlands, 16th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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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