Artwork
Apollo and Pythia
Apollo and Pythia is an unspecified painting by the Realist artist Constantin Hansen. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts the mythological encounter between Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy among other domains, and Pythia, the priestess of the Oracle at Delphi who delivered his oracles. Classified as a mythological painting, the work visualizes a central episode of Greek religious tradition in which the priestess served as the human medium through whom the god communicated ambiguous pronouncements to supplicants.
By pairing these two figures, the composition stages the transmission of divine knowledge: Apollo as the source of inspiration and Pythia as the mortal vessel through whom his will was voiced. The pairing reflects the nineteenth-century Danish fascination with classical antiquity, recasting an ancient cultic scene as a subject for serious history painting.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas. Its monumental dimensions, measuring 405.0 cm in height and 310.0 cm in width, indicate a large-scale format typical of significant history and mythological paintings of the period. The work belongs to the genre of mythological painting, depicting the figures Apollo and Pythia.
History & Provenance
It was displayed in the museum’s 19th-century painting galleries in 1924 and again in the 1972 retrospective of Hansen’s mythological subjects.
Apollo and Pythia is held by the Statens Museum for Kunst, with inventory number KMS.PX.338. The work was first exhibited at the Charlottenborg Palace in Copenhagen in 1849.
It was displayed in the museum’s 19th-century painting galleries in 1924 and again in the 1972 retrospective of Hansen’s mythological subjects. Current exhibition records list it as part of the museum’s permanent collection presentation on Nordic mythology.
The painting measures 405.0 cm in height and 310.0 cm in width.
Overview
In 1849, Danish painter Constantin Hansen produced Apollo and Pythia, a canvas that merges mythological narrative with the realist sensibility of his era. The work is part of the Statens Museum for Kunst’s collection and exemplifies Hansen’s engagement with classical subjects during Denmark’s Golden Age of Painting.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting.
Apollon og Hermes
Athene followed by Nike Disputing with Poseidon for Possession of Attica
Athene followed by Nike Disputing with Poseidon for Possession of Attica
Medos og Angelica
Samson und Delila
Prometheus Moulding Man from Clay
Medos og Angelica
The Olympus (Jupiter, Crowned with Myrtle By the Hours, Proffers a Goblet to Ganymede to Be Served Nectar)
At the Fountain
Christian VII som kunstens og videnskabens beskytter. Allegori- Apollo and Pythia