Apollo and Daphne c. 19th century

Editor: This is Théodore Chassériau's "Apollo and Daphne," located here at the Harvard Art Museums. It’s a flurry of lines, almost frenetic, and yet the figures still feel so… poised? What do you see in this piece? Curator: Ah, Chassériau! He always struck me as a poet with a pencil. This image feels like a dream, doesn't it? That frantic energy you sense, that's the chase, the desperation, but also the sheer impossible beauty of metamorphosis. Daphne's escape isn’t just flight, it’s a blossoming. Editor: A blossoming, I like that! It reframes the image, it's not just an escape, but a beginning. Curator: Exactly! It makes me think of the tales Ovid told, and how Chassériau is reinterpreting the classical world through such personal emotion. Editor: Thanks! I'll remember that blossoming next time I think of this work.