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In the image, Antonio Tempesta portrays Apollo transforming Cyparissus into a tree at the end of the story due to his guilt over his favored stag’s death, including Apollo carrying a lyre with an outstretched hand toward his now-transformed lover. Tempesta, who Santi di Tito trained in the late sixteenth century, was an artist who favored counter-mannerism, a movement aiming for greater simplicity and religious decorum in art. Furthermore, his work was critical in the development of the Baroque battle painting, as he focused on portraying heroic scenes of struggle. Although the pattern isn’t immediately clear in his depiction of Cyparissus, the struggle between Apollo and Cyparissus as well of the context of Cyparissus having killed the deer while hunting makes the carving align better with Tempesta’s other subjects. Furthermore, Tempesta follows the pattern of counter-mannerism in the painting. Although literacy in Italy was comparatively high at the time (estimated at around 20-30% for the general population), the act of creating a concise image that conveys the story's idea shows the counter-manneristic influence at the time. Another trend in counter-mannerism was an emphasis on religious piety, which contributed to how Apollo is depicted. The Baroque influence of the painting further confirms this. During the Catholic Revival in Italy, Baroque art was used to halt the spread of Protestantism, especially by reinterpreting Roman mythology to capture it with a more dramatic intensity. 

 

Tempesta’s painting seems to depict the section of the story where Apollo transforms Cyparissus into a tree. Before this, Cyparissus and Apollo had gotten into an argument about whether Cyparissus killing the stag was a reason for Cyparissus to die. While Cyparissus wanted to die, Apollo believed the stag wasn’t as important as Cyparissus made it out to be and thought Cyparissus should grieve and move on. The story doesn’t focus on the relationship between them, besides mentioning that Cyparissus was “a boy beloved by that god”, with “that god” referring to Apollo. Instead, the poem primarily focuses on the sense of grief Cyparissus feels and descriptions of the importance of the stag, with over half the poem focused solely on description of the stag and the stag’s relationship with Cyparissus. From this, it’s clear that the story is primarily intended to focus on grief and human emotion rather than any godly connection Cyparissus has. 

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In contrast, although the painting portrays Cyparissus as intensely regretful for his actions, it seems more focused on his connection with Apollo rather than his connection with the stag.  Cyparissus’s face is the picture of immense guilt, yet he turns away from the stag in his last moments before his transformation, instead looking towards Apollo. Had Cyparissus been facing the stag, it would have oriented the painting on his act of slaughter, but since Cyparissus is looking towards Apollo, it focuses on the consequences and after-effects. While Ovid himself emphasizes the feeling of overwhelming grief Cyparissus feels, Tempesta shifts the focus toward the relationship between Cyparissus and Apollo rather than the relationship between Cyparissus and the deer. Tempesta also shows Apollo having descended from the clouds holding a lyre, but interestingly neglects to include the bow and arrow (despite the lyre and bow often being seen together regarding Apollo), perhaps due to the context of Cyparissus having shot the stag with an arrow while hunting. Furthermore, Cyparissus looking towards Apollo shows Cyparissus focusing on his divine power rather than the earthly attachment of the stag, reflecting the sixteenth-century emphasis on divine authority as a source of moral clarity. Ultimately, Tempesta’s reinterpretation reveals that what Renaissance audiences found compelling in Cyparissus’ story wasn’t just grief, but the tension between human emotion and divine intervention.