Daphne and Apollo

This is one of Bernini's most beautiful works: the moment when Apollo reaches out to grab Daphne who doesn't want to be grabbed and she begins to turn into a tree. You can see branches and leaves sprouting from her finger tips,  roots growing from her toes and the bark creeping up her body. Maybe she could have given Apollo a chance; he looks like a nice young man. Not like the guy in the other room, smirking Pluto who is making off with a tearful Proserpine, digging his hands into her flesh to hold her. Gee, two depictions of glorified, diefied, rape.
This was at the Borghese Gallery, one of the superstar museums of Rome. It's hard to get tickets for, hard to get to, you only get 2 hours to look at the art and when you get there you have to leave all your bags and purses behind. Yet they let you bring you camera in. I really appreciated that but it seemed so 21st century.