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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.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate a theory of the interpretation of artistic images. The thesis is that such interpretations operate as metaphors. The method is shown through an analysis of a late work by Henri Matisse—the "Apollon", 1953 (now owned by the Modern Museum in Stockholm). Firstly, two earlier interpretations are analysed to show how different views can be regarded as consistent and illuminating but nevertheless conflict deeply with each other. Then, the main interpretation undertaken in this article is pursued to show how artistic images are understood through patterns of interaction. The features of the image are seen to interact with meaningful material of different kinds—the comparative material of interpretation set in motion by the most dominant features of the picture as a whole. The dominant features chosen are: the title "Apollon" (joining the picture with the tradition of representations and myths concerning this God); the image of the sun; the image of the face and a possible hidden "body"; the principle of symmetry and dynamism in the pictorial organization; the principle of oneness as opposed to multiplicity; the fact that Matisse was 84 years old and approaching death when the picture was made; the fact that the picture is a paper cut-out with painted elements. The work is seen to deal with themes concerning the creative process in art as such and to develop, into modern terms, a classical French tradition oriented towards the sources of Mediterranean culture. Each time the picture is held to interact with the comparative material through the different dominant features, a special pattern of meaning is stressed. The picture interacts with the comparative material and the different patterns of meaning also interact. These processes of interaction are analysed as equivalent to the process of achieving meaning through metaphor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]