The content of Matisse's “Apollo” (fig. 1) is full of mystery. Several different motifs—a face, water, three trees, a fan, leaves in various colours, and two posts—are brought together in a symmetrical composition. Attempts have been made to regard the picture as illustrating certain passages in the Apollo myth, for instance the story of Daphne and Apollo, or of Phaethon, the son of the Sun-god. It was the course of events in the myth that was to identify and explain the various motifs, but these attempts led to disparate and conflicting conclusions. The author of this paper endeavours to find out whether Matisse had any particular way of treating mythological themes. The two Icarus pictures he made in 1943 do not reflect the conflict situation of the myth, for Icarus is portrayed in a night scene against a background of stars instead of the sun: the vax in his wings would not melt in this setting. In actual fact the figures represent airmen on a night-attack who were being fired at: the white figure (an aircraft) is caught in the beam of a searchlight, has been hit, and is beginning to fall (fig. 4), while the black one (fig. 3) has not been struck by the projectiles. “Amphitrite” (fig. 5) does not show the goddess herself, but her watery surroundings. The various sea motifs are easily identifiable: an amoeba, sea horses, a sea serpent, pieces of coral. Each is shown in a section of its own and creates the effect of an underwater photograph. In 1947, when Matisse made this picture, Jacques-Yves Cousteau had popularized marine research, and this was the source of his inspiration. This article also points out the model on which the composition was based: a Roman relief, “Mithras” (fig. 7), reproduced in the book on Roman antiquities Montfaucon published in 1719-24. The bull has been transformed into the bottom piece of coral (the head, legs and the bifurcated tail retaining their original form). The smaller figures at waist height on either side of Mithras have become the two sea horses and Mithras himself has shrunk to become the amoeba in the central section, his mantle being reproduced by the double outline round the amoeba. “Venus” (fig. 8) is shown as a torso modelled on the late-Hellenistic, twisted statues in the Louvre. The figure itself is the negative space between two paper cut-outs. The author demonstrates that Matisse never illustrated any myths but merely reproduced the mythological figured in them (Icarus, Venus); he symbolized Amphitrite by showing her environment in the depths of the sea. Title and form are chosen and treated to awaken general associations; when these have been established, recognition of the particular way in which Matisse's representation differs from the conventional one will open the way to further interpretations. The composition of “Apollo” is allied to that of the middle part of “Amphitrite” in conjunction with another of Montfaucon's illustrations, “Le Soleil” (fig. 6), also a Roman relief. This was found in the Palazzo Mattei in Rome and is described in the younger Aleandro's treatise of 1616. The relief portrays various classical gods in emblematic form. Phoebus Apollo (the bust and the lyre) and Bacchus (the krater) provide the central axis, which is flanked on either side by the attributes of Hercules (the lion skin and the club), thereby also creating an association with the Pillars of Hercules (the rock of Gibraltar and Jebel Muse). The piles of stones and the caducei together are attributes of Hermes (Mercury). The garland of fruit may be a symbol of Venus, and the fact that the caducei touch it might be an allusion to her love affair with Hermes, the product of which was Hermaphroditos. The “Le Soleil” relief inspired several artists even in the 17th century: Poussin's “The Judgement of Solomon” and “Neptune and Amphitrite” as well as Girardon's “Apollo and the Nymphs” (fig. 9) all employ the same scheme of composition. Even the origin of the fan motif may be traced to Montfaucon's book: the scallop-shell niche on Roman funerary urns (figs. 11 & 12). The scallop—which Matisse at the same time combines into a picture of the sun—together with water can be understood as referring to the birth of Venus. This theme, too, is to be found in Montfaucon (fig. 11). The androgynous face represents at the same time both Venus and Apollo. The trees can be identified as vines that have been pruned in spring. According to the American art collector who commissioned it, “the ceramic work was intended to decorate a wall in a winery”. In his work Matisse united Apollo, Venus, Bacchus and Hercules”, the gods of the sun, love, wine and the symbol of strength.
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