Chemins de l'invention: la genèse de l'"Apollon amoureux de Daphné" du Louvre

Paths of invention: the Genesis of the Louvre "Apollon Amoureux de Daphne". Never finished, the "Apollon Amoureux de Daphne" in the Louvre was Nicolas Poussin's last painting. Five preparatory drawings allow us to closely follow the creative processes of the artist. The original idea seems to have been the evocation of the famous statue, "L'Apollon Sauroctone" by Praxiteles, cited by Pliny the Elder in his "Natural History". Poussin then transformed the subject by installing Apollo in an Arcadian landscape inspired by the "Arcadia" of Sannazaro. In the last decisive stage, the artist drew upon Ovid's "Metamorphoses" to stage the myth of Apollo and Daphne. At each new stage, the artist evolved his composition according to the atmosphere of the account that inspired him, while preserving a form of continuity that conferred richness, depth and originality to the final painting.