Apollo in Gold

About this work

The upturned head sets the mood: Apollo looks up and away to the left, as if listening to something beyond the frame. Around his head the gilded laurel wreath and the crown of thin gold rays form a bright halo, the lightest point in the picture, and from there the eye moves down to the lyre held against his body, its ornate gold frame echoing the rays above. A marble robe is draped over one shoulder, with gold leaf picking out details in its folds. The marble itself is a cool grey-white, and the dramatic light carves out the face and neck against pure black. Close up the rays look as fine as wire; from further away the gold gathers into two glowing shapes, crown and lyre, linked by the pale figure between them.

Apollo was the Greek god of music, light, poetry and prophecy, and two of his emblems appear here. A legend tells that the infant Hermes made the first lyre from a tortoise shell and gave it to Apollo to make peace after stealing his cattle; from then on the lyre was Apollo's instrument. The laurel comes from the myth of Daphne, a nymph who fled from the god and was turned into a laurel tree. Apollo took its leaves as his own, and laurel wreaths crowned the winners of the Pythian Games, held in his honour at Delphi. Later writers often identified him with Helios, the sun, which explains the rays. The gold on our marble is a modern addition.

With Persephone in Gold it forms a pair of gazes, one lifted to the light, one lowered to the pomegranate. In a music corner, The Golden Flapper adds a touch of the 1920s jazz age to the classical lyre. Charcoal, bottle green, deep navy and warm stone walls flatter the marble, and black walls make the gold almost glow. Choose a black frame for drama or a slim antique gold frame to repeat the wreath. A narrow black mat keeps the background continuous. Hang it at eye level so you look slightly up with him. Printed from the 7168 × 10752 px file, it stays sharp to about 60 × 90 cm, a good size above a piano. You also get a Frame TV version with a gallery mat.