The Lovers of Dawn

The Lovers of Dawn

Two beautiful figures, one magnificent sky and the sort of romance that clearly required a very large painting.

Gerard de Lairesse painted Apollo and Aurora in 1671, presenting the sun god and goddess of the dawn in a luminous, idealised composition. The faces are unusually individualised, leading to the intriguing possibility that the divine couple may also have been portraits of a newly married pair. Choose your character, upload your photograph and we will arrange the likeness.

The original portrait

Gerard de Lairesse was celebrated in his lifetime for an idealising style inspired by classical antiquity. This monumental oil painting was probably intended for the mantelpiece of a grand Amsterdam home. The Metropolitan Museum of Art notes that the individualised faces have led to speculation that the work may have been commissioned as a wedding portrait disguised as classical mythology.

Portrait character: THE COUPLE
Original artist: Gerard de Lairesse
Original date: 1671