A young nymph in love with Apollo, she was rejected for the mortal Leucothôe. Driven by jealousy, she did everything to hinder their love, even to the point of having Leucothôe buried alive by her father. Clytie never resigned herself and sat day and night in a field gazing at her beloved. Apollo, taking pity on her, transformed her into a sunflower.
Date: 1838
Material: Marble
Patron: Count Francesco Miniscalchi Erizzo
Location: Miniscalchi-Erizzo Museum Foundation (Verona)
The marble statue, commissioned by Count Francesco Miniscalchi Erizzo from Innocenzo Fraccaroli in 1838, depicts Clytie, the nymph loved by the Sun and then abandoned for the beautiful Leucothôe. According to Greek mythology, Clytie, jealous of this betrayal and in a fit of rage against her rival, revealed the love between the two to the young girl's father, who put his daughter to death. The Sun, however, never returned to Clytie, who spent her days following the divine chariot's path across the sky. Moved by the nymph's grief, the Sun transformed her into a sunflower, the flower that relentlessly follows the star's path across the sky.
The imitation of nature, the study of antiquity, and the pursuit of harmony and balance were fundamental concepts throughout Fraccaroli's career, which is why the statue follows the neoclassical canons of Antonio Canova (1757-1822).
From its first exhibition at the Brera Academy in 1838, the sculpture received widespread acclaim. Among the most notable testimonials were those of the poet Aleardo Aleardi and the journalist Gian Jacopo Pezzi.
