Apollo and Marsyas (Ribera, Brussels)

Apollo and Marsyas is the title of a 1637 painting by the Spanish artist José de Ribera, now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium.

Other versions are now in the Museo di Capodimonte and the Naples Archaeological Museum.

They all show the Caravaggisti's heavy influence on the artist, and depict Marsyas' flaying by Apollo.

As a punishment, Marsyas is hung on a tree and skinned alive, while looking at the viewer as if begging for his intervention or help.

On the contrary, the god is represented in an almost idealized and serene way, pleased by his triumph and subsequent action.