Apollo, Lyric (recreated)
workshop of Cliveden Conservation Workshop
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
Unknown
Materials
Composite stone
Measurements
1650 mm (Height)
Collection
Stowe, Buckinghamshire
NT 91975.1
Summary
Apollo, Lyric (Apollo Musagates/Citharoedus)
Full description
This life-size sculpture of Apollo is a modern reimagining of the lost Stowe eighteenth century lead sculpture and was designed using historical evidence. Apollo is depicted naked apart from a twisted section of drapery (or loin-cloth) covering the upper thighs and genitals. He holds a Lyre (Cythara) between his left hand and his left hip and plays this Lyre with his right hand (proper). He has a starburst of laurel leaves within his hair. Apollo is turning to proper right and leans in contrapposto against a short tree stump. his left foot is raised upon a section of this tree-stump. The original lead sculpture of Apollo is attributed to the sculptor John Nost II (died 1729. The earliest reference for this statue at Stowe is 1735 although it may have been commissioned in the 1720's. The Stowe Apollo is show in the 1750’s illustration and later hand-coloured engraving ’A View in the Elysian Fields from The Spring of Helicon’ (example NT 91830.5). This eighteenth statue has not survived. By 1770 the sculpture group Apollo and the Nine Muses had been relocated within the gardens at Stowe and formed a semi-circle of statues around the Doric Arch at the entrance to the Elysian Fields.
Provenance
Commissioned by the National Trust and installed in Stowe Gardens in April 2023. This statue was recreated as part of the statue group Apollo and the Nine Muses. These statues were recreated as an artistic commission in the spirit of the lost original C18th statue group.
Makers and roles
workshop of Cliveden Conservation Workshop, sculptor