Apollo slaying Coronis

Apollo Slaying Coronis from the 1616 Aldobrandini series depicts the god killing his unfaithful lover with an arrow—the same divine archery that made Apollo both healer and destroyer in Greek mythology. This violent mythological subject gives Domenichino an opportunity to contrast divine wrath with the pastoral serenity of his ideal landscape. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays clear, rational compositions, restrained emotional expression, classical landscape integration, Raphaelesque grace in figure types.

Apollo's arrow creates a dramatic line of action across the composition, while Coronis falls in a graceful arc that aestheticizes violence according to the classical principles governing Domenichino's mythological painting.