The Apollo of the Belvedere, on the other hand, is only
a copy of a bronze original. The principal restorations
are the left hand and the right fore-arm and hand. The
most natural explanation of the god's attitude is that
he held a bow in his left hand and has just let fly an
arrow against some foe. His figure is slender, according
to the fashion which prevailed from the middle of the
fourth century onward, and he moves over the ground with
marvelous lightness. His appearance has an effect of
almost dandified elegance, and critics to-day cannot
feel the reverent raptures which this statue used to
evoke. Yet still the Apollo of the Belvedere remains a
radiant apparition. An attempt has recently been made to
promote the figure, or rather its original, to the
middle of the fourth century.
F. B. Tarbell, A History of Ancient Greek Art
