Apollo and Aurora
Artist: Gerard de Lairesse (Dutch, 1641–1711)
Original Dimensions: 80 1/2" x 76 1/8"
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
About Artwork: (1671) "Largely forgotten today, De Lairesse was celebrated in his lifetime as a painter and advocate for an idealizing manner based on the study of classical antiquity. This work, likely destined to hang over the mantelpiece in a grand Amsterdam home, depicts the sun god consorting with the goddess of the dawn, a popular subject in French and Italian painting at the time. The attractively individualized young faces have led to speculation that they may be disguised portraits of a newly married couple." - (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

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