Painting date: 1908
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 145 x 112 cm
Location: Private Collection

In Greek mythology, Daphne was the daughter of the river god Peneius. She was similar in many ways to the goddess Artemis, in that she was also a virgin huntress who happily roamed the wilderness. One day, the love god Eros shot a flurry of arrows to taunts from Apollo, the god of prophecy. The first of Eros' arrows was a gold-tipped shaft and when it struck Apollo it made him fall immediately in love with Daphne. The second one, however, had a lead tip and caused Daphne to become even more indifferent that she already had been to any lover. Apollo, however, pursued Daphne relentlessly until, in desperation, she turned herself into a laurel tree on the banks of her father's river.