Apollo Granting Phaeton Permission to Drive the Chariot of the Sun
Johann Michael Rottmayr
c. 1695
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
81.3 × 125.2 cm (32 × 49 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
20155
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
There may have been seven mythological paintings in this series, each corresponding to a celestial body and a day of the week. In the 17th century, the cosmological correlations between the movements of the planets and the passing of time were demonstrated through stories like this one. Here, Apollo, the Roman sun god of Sunday, grants his pleading son Phaeton permission to drive his chariot, a journey that would bring the light of day across the sky. Apollo’s daughters, the Heliades, and Chrono...