BOECKHORST, Jan van
(b. ca. 1604, Münster or Rees, d. 1668, Antwerpen)

Apollo and the Python

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Oil on panel, 60 x 50 cm
Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent

Python, in Greek mythology, is a huge serpent that was killed by the god Apollo at Delphi either because it would not let him found his oracle, being accustomed itself to giving oracles, or because it had persecuted Apollo's mother, Leto, during her pregnancy.