"The composition of the picture is quite remarkable for its simplicity in depicting a scene of fervid activity. There is no confusion: every figure is distinct and yet united in a completely satisfactory whole. There is dignity, such as that of the Cartoon-men, and there is balance, so that no one part outshines another.. The eye at a glance takes in the whole subject without fatigue, with no misjudgment. In it religion and poetry, beauty and pathos are all combined.The drawing is supreme. Leighton has here left his Cimabue model and taken up instead his Greeks—the differences in form, features, and characteristics are at once apparent. The pencilling of graceful and vigorous limbs is distinct and articulate, and every fold of white drapery is as pliant and natural as are his effects with heavier stuffs. The lips are moving, the feet are stepping, the pulses are beating, and the contour and suppleness of the bodies leave nothing to be desired.The colour-scheme is most refreshing. The garishness of strong hues is absent, and instead we have a sequence of creamy pinks, pearly blues, and creamy, greyish green, thrown up by backgrounds of dull red, dark purple, and staid-brown. The carnations are lovely and full of rich young blood, and exactly toned to race and age and sex. The eyes are full of fervid intelligence and reverent concentration. The lights and shadows are well disposed. The time of day is about evening, for, whilst the city is bathed in the westering rays of sunshine, the thick trees bestow a sweet and grateful shade over the path which the procession takes. There is perhaps a trace of the Tuscan purple haze over the blue mountains, but the atmosphere is clear and dry. Perspective and proportion are true to line and projection.The finish is perfect: nothing more could be done. Everything exactly reflects the character as well as the art of the painter in one word—thorough! What strikes the beholder at once, and what is borne in upon him more and more as this masterpiece is studied, is the enchanted spirit of dedication which pervades the solemnity. Each moving figure is under the spell of the Sun-god the beauteous Apollo—and, enwrapped in an aroma of profound reverence, is being drawn irresistibly to his mystic shrine.The "Daphnephoria" combines exhaustively all the ideals which Leighton set himself to achieve. Its subject is in perfect accord with his temperament, and lends itself absolutely to the luxurious interpretation of nature which he loved so earnestly. In it he revels in harmonious lines and in pleasant contrasts, and its technique agrees completely with his imagination. It is a lyric poem in most graceful Grecian measure. The "Cimabue’s Madonna" and the "Daphnephoria" are the Alpha and Omega of the Art of Leighton."