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Apollo and Daphne
About the Artwork
Apollo, the Greek and Roman god of the sun and the arts, fell in love with the nymph Daphne. Chased to a riverbank, Daphne prayed to her father, the river god, Peneus, for help. At the moment Apollo reached out to touch her, she transformed into a laurel tree, branches and roots sprouting from her body. This work reveals key preoccupations of artists working in Italy in the 1600s: novel, active compositions; fleeting moments; and transformation from one physical form into another. Soldani based this work on a large-scale marble sculpture from 1622–25 by the Roman artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Provenance
1897–1959: Private collection of Mrs. Elizabeth Parke Firestone (Newport, Rhode Island). 1959–1990: Upon her death, held in trust by the estate of Mrs. Elizabeth Parke Firestone. 1990–1991: Estate of Elizabeth Parke Firestone [sold, Christie's, New York, lot no. 840, to Daniel Katz., Ltd.). 1991–1992: Daniel Katz., Ltd., sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Exhibition history
Selected Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 9-April 11, 1993). Artlens Exhibition 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24, 2017-May 29, 2019).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Massimiliano Soldani (Italian, 1656–1740)
- Date
- c. 1700
- Medium
- terracotta
- Dimensions
- Overall: 55.5 x 34.2 x 21.9 cm (21 7/8 x 13 7/16 x 8 5/8 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Accession no.
- 1992.230
More by Massimiliano Soldani in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010637
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