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Apollo Slaying Python, plate one from The History of Apollo and Daphne

A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.

Date:

c. 1532

Artist:

Master of the Die (Italian, active c. 1530-1560)
after Baldassare Peruzzi (Italian, 1481-1536)

About this artwork

The alteration to this impression is not initially evident, but closer inspection reveals that this predominantly nude Apollo is missing his genitalia. A viewer deliberately scraped away the ink at the god’s crotch in a campaign of extremely localized censorship. Given how modestly Apollo was originally endowed, this change does not significantly alter the image overall. Rather, the god’s sizable arrow quiver dangles more provocatively between his legs than his own penis ever did. The objecting viewer, apparently lacking a grasp of age-old visual puns, may not have realized that, with his alteration, the visual emphasis merely shifted to this larger and more obvious phallus substitute.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Master of the Die

Title

Apollo Slaying Python, plate one from The History of Apollo and Daphne

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1527–1537

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image plate: 21.8 × 17.6 cm (8 5/8 × 6 15/16 in.); Text plate: 2.6 × 17.6 cm (1 1/16 × 6 15/16 in.); Sheet: 24 × 17.6 cm (9 1/2 × 6 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

The Wallace L. DeWolf and Joseph Brooks Fair Collections

Reference Number

1920.2327

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/80137/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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