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Diana and Apollo Slaughtering the Children of Niobe

Pirro Ligorio

1550

chalk

paper

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Mythology

Dominant colour

Diana and Apollo Slaughtering the Children of Niobe is a 1550 chalk by Pirro Ligorio, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Pirro Ligorio
When & what style?: 1550 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This sketch shows a chaotic scene with lots of swirling bodies. At the top, two figures—one holding a bow, the other a spear—look like they’re in the middle of an attack. Below them, a group of people and animals are tangled together, some reaching upward as if in fear or pain. The lines are loose and energetic, with shading that makes the figures pop against the light background. The artist used red chalk to sketch quickly, leaving marks that show movement. The way they layered shadows and light gives the scene drama without full color. Next, look up Renaissance to see how this style fits into that era’s art.