Apollo and Daphne

Bernini was 24 when he began this. Ovid's story: Apollo chases Daphne, who prays to be delivered — and turns into a laurel tree the instant he catches her. Bernini froze that instant in marble. Her fingertips are already leaves, bark climbs her thighs, her hair is becoming branches, and Apollo's expression shifts from lust to horror as he feels wood under his hand. Walk the full 360° — Bernini designed it to be experienced as you circle: first Apollo alone, then the chase, then the transformation. The marble is so thin at the leaves that light passes through it.