Dimensions: support: 349 x 298 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is Alma-Tadema's *A Priestess of Apollo,* from the Tate. She seems lost in thought, maybe even a little troubled? What strikes you when you look at her? Curator: I see a fascinating blend of worlds! The leopard skin clashes wonderfully against the cool marble. It’s almost as if she’s caught between her wild, primal instincts and the structured world of the temple. Almost daring you to imagine her about to break free. What does that tension feel like to you? Editor: A little unsettling, but in a good way! Like she's on the verge of something big. Curator: Exactly! Alma-Tadema excels at freezing a moment of inner turmoil, that potent moment right before transformation. It’s a gorgeous snapshot of anticipation. Editor: I didn't see it that way at first, but now I feel like I'm waiting with her. Curator: Isn't it delicious? Art holding up a mirror to our own restless souls.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/alma-tadema-a-priestess-of-apollo-n04949
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Apollo was one of the gods who lived on Mount Olympus. He was the sun god, and the Romans believed that he rode his fiery chariot drawn by four horses across the sky each day. Here, one of the priestesses of a Roman temple of Apollo looks rapturously upwards towards the sun. Alma-Tadema changed this picture extensively from his first design. The lines of a room now show through the thin paint of the walls to the left and right of the figure, and what is probably a marble bench is still visible to the immediate left of the figure. Gallery label, September 2001
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