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Richard Caswell

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Hans Thoma — Apollo and Marsyas
Hans Thoma — Apollo and Marsyas
Hans Thoma

Apollo and Marsyas

1888

Hans Thoma was a leading Northern European figure in the late r9th-century shift from Naturalism to art inspired by classical myths and legends. The subject of this work, taken from Ovid's epic poem Metamorphoses, is the satyr Marsyas challenging Apollo, the master of the lyre, to a musical contest. Although the artist avoided depicting the cruel outcome of the match (the satyr lost and was flayed alive by Apollo), his treatment of Apollo, whose idealized body and luminous skin set him apart from the shadowy halftones of his challenger, hints at the winner.

Medium
Oil on board in artist's painted frame
Location
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

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Hans Thoma, Apollo and Marsyas, 1888

Hans Thoma was a leading Northern European figure in the late r9th-century shift from Naturalism to art inspired by classical myths and legends. The subject of this work, taken from Ovid's epic poem Metamorphoses, is the satyr Marsyas challenging Apollo, the master of the lyre, to a musical contest. Although the artist avoided depicting the cruel outcome of the match (the satyr lost and was flayed alive by Apollo), his treatment of Apollo, whose idealized body and luminous skin set him apart from the shadowy halftones of his challenger, hints at the winner.

Medium
Oil on board in artist's painted frame
Year
1888
Seen at
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Related themes

Figurative Painting, Grove Setting, Pastoral Landscape, 19th Century, Music Theme, German Art, Romantic Painting, Laurel Wreath, Arnold Bocklin, Oil On Canvas, Swiss Art, Flute Player, European Masters, Nude Figures, Symbolism, Mythological Scene, Cypress Trees, Classical Mythology, Neoclassical Art, Ancient Greece

More works by Hans Thoma

Similar artists

Hans von Marées, Anselm Feuerbach, Frederic Leighton

Collected by

Richard Caswell