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Apollo Killing Python

Etienne Delaune

1551

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Mythology Hunting

Dominant colour

Apollo Killing Python is a 1551 ink by Etienne Delaune, a Renaissance work, depicting Hunting, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Etienne Delaune
When & what style?: 1551 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

You see Apollo with a bow drawn, aiming at a twisted python. His robes billow in an invisible wind. The snake coils around a mossy rock, mouth open. The engraving uses tight lines called cross-hatching to show light and shadow. Apollo's muscles look hard, the snake's scales rough. It’s from 1580, when prints spread stories fast. Think of this like a comic panel frozen in metal. Next, look up Delaune, Etienne.