In Greek mythology, Daphne was pursued by the sun god Apollo. To help his daughter escape, Daphne's father changed her into a laurel tree. Here Daphne is shown standing, half-naked, at the moment of her transformation. Her waist and right leg are swathed in yellow drapery, but her left leg is clearly becoming a tree trunk and from her upraised hands sprout young shoots with leaves. She stands in a landscape background, which appears to be continuous with that in Pellegrini's 'Apollo' (RCIN 405478), suggesting that the canvases were intended to be hung side-by-side; it is not impossible that they originally formed one canvas.

The painting is one of a series of twelve mythological scenes of gods and mortals by Pellegrini, all of autograph quality. The history of their commission is not known and the series may be incomplete, but the poses of the figures suggest that the canvases were part of a decorative scheme. There is no evidence that this was a royal commission; the paintings may have entered the collection because of the destruction of a house for which they were originally intended. One of the series, Endymion (RCIN 405481), appears on the wall in Philippe Mercier's The Music Party of 1733 (RCIN 402414), which shows Frederick, Prince of Wales, performing with his sisters (in a room that has never been securely identified). This makes Frederick the most likely purchaser of the set, though the only evidence directly linking them to him.