Cleveland Museum of Art

Apollo

Hendrick GoltziusLinkedCulture matchlcp-c162078f1223

Date

1588

Medium

engraving

Culture

Netherlands, 16th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Object ID

144707

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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