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Lot Essay
In 1946 and 1947 Koch treated the Daphne theme three times. In the first version, Daphne is represented standing, in full length in an Italian landscape (Caldic Collection, Rotterdam, cat.no. 53); the later versions only show Daphne's head. They are only slightly different. In one of them (cat. 55) Daphne is looking down with a leaf that seems to sprout from her mouth. The other version, the present lot, shows her head tilted upwards and her traits are far more refined. Again, the influence of early Renaissance painting and of Botticelli is clear in the soft, pale colours and the linear treatment of the hair and the leaves. On the other hand, the face itself is quite portrait like, even modern and realist.
C. Blotkamp published a photo of Koch's mother, to which Daphne bears a convincing resemblance (Blotkamp op.cit., 1982). Koch had a deep-rooted desire for self-expression. He often took his inner life as a guide for the creation of enigmatic images. Knowledge of his personal life is indispensable for a proper understanding of his art. As Louis van Tilborgh has stated, Koch's oeuvre appears in large part to be a sort of autobiography into which he has worked aspects of his personality in an inventive but covert fashion. The underlying artistic approach was based on the Freudian ideas with which he came in contact in 1920's.
Koch was fascinated by Freuds concept of the Oedipus complex, since it 'cherished incest' as his friend Cola Debrot remarked in 1972. Koch was extremely attached to his mother. The present painting can be interpreted as the expression of this affective relationship. It shows the nymph at the very moment of metamorphosis in a laurel tree in order to escape the advances of Apollo. Daphne was the first love of Apollo. According Louis van Tilborgh, this painting shows the artist's feelings for his mother. The son saw his first love, but his desire remained unfulfilled. (Louis van Tilborgh, p.149-150).
C. Blotkamp published a photo of Koch's mother, to which Daphne bears a convincing resemblance (Blotkamp op.cit., 1982). Koch had a deep-rooted desire for self-expression. He often took his inner life as a guide for the creation of enigmatic images. Knowledge of his personal life is indispensable for a proper understanding of his art. As Louis van Tilborgh has stated, Koch's oeuvre appears in large part to be a sort of autobiography into which he has worked aspects of his personality in an inventive but covert fashion. The underlying artistic approach was based on the Freudian ideas with which he came in contact in 1920's.
Koch was fascinated by Freuds concept of the Oedipus complex, since it 'cherished incest' as his friend Cola Debrot remarked in 1972. Koch was extremely attached to his mother. The present painting can be interpreted as the expression of this affective relationship. It shows the nymph at the very moment of metamorphosis in a laurel tree in order to escape the advances of Apollo. Daphne was the first love of Apollo. According Louis van Tilborgh, this painting shows the artist's feelings for his mother. The son saw his first love, but his desire remained unfulfilled. (Louis van Tilborgh, p.149-150).