Artwork
Apollo with his Lyre
Apollo with his Lyre is a photography by the Romanticist artist Unknown. It dates from 1846 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. A photograph from 1846 captures a staged representation of Apollo, the Greek god of music, in a classical pose.
About this work
The artist dressed the model in ancient Greek-style clothes to look like Apollo, the Greek god of music.
This is a black-and-white photo of a shirtless man holding a lyre, a stringed instrument. He’s barefoot, wearing a short skirt-like cloth, and has a leafy wreath on his head. His left foot steps on a satyr’s leg, half-man, half-goat, lying on the ground.
The photo was made in 1846, one of the earliest uses of photography to capture art. The artist dressed the model in ancient Greek-style clothes to look like Apollo, the Greek god of music.
Look up chiaroscuro to see how light and shadow create drama in art.
Overview
A photograph from 1846 captures a staged representation of Apollo, the Greek god of music, in a classical pose. The image is one of the earliest examples of photography being used to document art.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts a shirtless male figure, dressed in ancient Greek attire, holding a lyre and standing over a satyr. The composition is meant to evoke Apollo, with the satyr possibly symbolizing the god's association with the wild or his role in mythological narratives.
Technique & Style
The photograph employs chiaroscuro, using strong contrasts between light and dark to create a dramatic effect. The model's pose and attire are rendered in detail, capturing the textures of the clothing and the lyre.
History & Provenance
The photograph was created in 1846 and is now held at the Museum of Ethnography. It is attributed to the photographer known as 181_person.
Artist & collection
