Apollo was the god of light and also the god of unmarried men.  He was as beautiful and bright as sunlight, which is why he was also known as Phoebus, which means bright and shining.  Most nymphs and mortals alike found Apollo irresistible for both his bravery and his manly beauty.  Apollo was full of romance, as he would court women/goddesses by singing love songs to them and treating them with respect and thoughtfulness.  Apollo was a very captivating god.
 

Although, most nymphs and mortals found Apollo irresistible, his first love, Daphne, did not.  Apollo’s first love was actually the only one who ever resisted him.  However, there are reasons for this.  Aphrodite had once again been angered and requested her son, Eros, to shoot Apollo in his heart and make him in fall in love.  Thus, Eros shot Apollo in the heart with one of his arrows of love and made him fall in love with the beautiful nymph named Daphne.  This also pleased Eros, as Apollo had teased him earlier about carrying bows and arrows as if they were toys.  Apollo had mentioned that the bows and arrows that Eros carried were nothing compared to his own.  This was Eros’ chance to show him how influential his arrows truly were.
 

After being struck in the heart by Eros’ shaft, Apollo saw Daphne and uncharacteristic of his character chased her through the forest.  He pleaded for her to come and be his love.  However, Daphne was a follower of Artemis, Apollo’s sister, and loved her freedom.  Daphne knew that being married to a god like Apollo would end her freedom and also cause potential problems similar to some like Hera and Zeus had seen.
 

Because of this, Daphne ran as fast as she possibly could, but Apollo ran just as swift as she did. Just as Apollo was about to catch her, Daphne, being the daughter of a river god, called out to her father for help.  Suddenly her feet became rooted to the ground and her clothing turned to smooth brown bark.  Her uplifted hands turned into branches from which leaves sprouted and she became a laurel tree. 

Apollo was amazed by what he saw he saw his love turn into before his eyes and was filled with sorrow.  He touched the new tree’s branches as they trembled and he then hugged the trunk of the tree.  He vowed that since Daphne would not be his wife that she would become his sacred tree.  He would wear the leaves of Daphne’s tree as his crown and always be remembered of his first love.  All the winners at his games and great heroes in the years to come would be crowned with laurel leaves.  He also vowed that she, like him, would have eternal youth where her leaves would never turn brown or fall but would always stay lush and green.  The nymph, Daphne, hiding safely inside her tree, was grateful for this gesture and heartbroken Apollo left her side wearing a crown of laurel leaves. 

 

Bernini’s sculpture embodies the transformation of Daphne using touch and sight and the metamorphosis he shows is not just physical, but it is also sensual. Daphne turns her head to look back at Apollo as she begins to turn to laurel. Bernini is thus playing with the audience’s senses. Daphne’s facial expression shows her transformation is occurring. She is so afraid of being caught by Apollo, which Bernini remarkably portrays through the stone. Apollo’s mouth opens as she begins her transformation making this sculpture similar to the previous two sculptures in the Borghese group and the idea as it captures the moment. Apollo senses that something is wrong, but Bernini did not show this with his gaze. He still views Daphne in her human form, but he feels roots beneath his feet and the branch which grazes his loins as his left hand reaches towards her skin, which is turning to bark.
           

The metamorphosis that Bernini shows is not just physical, but it is also very sensual. The way Bernini turns Daphne’s head and the careful detail of the drapery falling off Apollo’s shoulder mimic Chembino Alberti’s engraving after Pollidoro da Carravagio. Berini placed Apollo and Daphne extremely close together in order to provide stability to the sculpture, but it also permits him to put Apollo’s arm completely around her. He puts Apollo’s gaze directly on Daphne’s face, which makes the obvious connections between vision and touch.
           

The statue is primarily about touch induced by erotic desire which has its basis in both visual and poetic art. Bernini plays with illusion: “what you see is not always what you get,” says Andrea Bolland. The space between Apollo and Daphne cannot necessarily be considered empty. However, the viewer must think of this space as room for the astonishment that is shown through Apollo and Daphne’s open mouths and turned heads.

Bernini maintained his theme of giving his sculptures one central view to see the action, but also used line to force the viewer to move around the sculpture to determine its meaning, sort of like a puzzle. The rear view of the sculpture is the capturing element and causes the viewer to immediately walk around to the front and find out its purpose. The viewer is quick to find Apollo chasing after beautiful Daphne much to her avail, while transformation begins to occur. On the right side, the viewer can see Daphne is in actuality becoming a laurel tree. Her toes have taken root, her flesh has turned to bark, her hair to leaves, and her arms to branches. Apollo notices and Bernini shows him exhibiting a sense of loss on his face.