Final answer:
Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpted the image of Daphne fleeing from Apollo, housed in the Galleria Borghese, which captures the mythological transformation of Daphne into a tree with great detail and emotion.
Step-by-step explanation:
The image of Daphne fleeing from Apollo that is housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome was sculpted by the renowned Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The theme of the piece draws from ancient mythological stories, showcasing a dramatic moment from Ovid's Metamorphoses where Daphne, a beautiful nymph and daughter of a river god, turns into a laurel tree to escape the lovesick Apollo, who was struck by Cupid's arrow.
Bernini expertly captures this transformation, demonstrating his extraordinary skill with marble as Daphne's flesh begins to merge into bark, and her fingers sprout into branches, exemplifying a mixture of emotion, motion, and metamorphosis in one stunning moment.