Dryads

Bernini's Apollo and Daphne

Now, I know that I've already blogged about Apollo and Daphne in an earlier post, but this made me smile so much.

One of my very close friends (the one I mentioned who calls me a tree earlier) is living in Austria right now, taking all sorts of different courses - one of which is an Art History one. She sent me this image with an email that I found this morning while I was eating breakfast.

"This picture made me think of you. I had never seen this Bernini sculpture, but it screams Autumn. A nymph turning into a tree. :) " She knows me so well - and yet she had no idea of the significance of this statue to me.

Tree Nymph in Vancouver Richard Henne

This Bernini sculpture is my absolute favorite that I have ever seen so far. It is at home in the Borghese Museum in Rome, Italy, and is one of the most gorgeous creations I have ever seen (this one, and The Rape of Proserpina which is housed in the room next to it). When you look at the detail, when you see impressions of fingerprints on skin, and all of the tiny perfect details, you can hardly believe that it's made of marble. Someone created that. It's amazing, isn't it? A nymph turning into a tree. Gorgeous.

Willows, Rowans, Tamaracks, Aspens, Birches, Pines. I love it.If I was to be a part of Ovid's mythology, I would hope to be a dryad.