Italian school; 17th century.
"The Bath of Diana".
Oil on canvas. Re-tinted.
It has repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface.
It has a damaged frame.
Measurements: 83,5 x 138,5 cm; 86 x 140,5 cm (frame).
This canvas represents a theme taken from classical mythology and very repeated throughout the history of art since the Renaissance: the bath of Diana. Thus, we see the classical goddess half-naked, accompanied by her nymphs. In this work we see a clear landscape, open in depth, a way of composing the landscape already initiated by the Carracci. However, in this work the artist's composition differs from the aforementioned classicism, as he introduces a vaporous atmosphere similar to those developed during the 18th century. Finally, the figures are also heirs to the classical Italian Baroque landscape, integrated into the landscape without detracting from the representation of nature. Academicism is a direct inheritance of classicism, hence the predilection for themes such as the one presented here, taken from mythology, although captured from a sensual and decorative point of view far removed from the solemnity of ancient classical art. This also explains his approach to the subject, recreating the mythological figures in a completely new way. Nevertheless, there is an ideal of beauty that is not based on reality, although the painter's study of nature is undeniable, but rather an idealism based on reality through his sum of experience, that is to say, an aesthetic sublimation that reflects a beauty that transcends reality.
The best known story related to this scene is that of Diana surprised by Actaeon, narrated by Ovid in his "Metamorphoses". The goddess, devoted to chastity, was bathing in the company of her nymphs in the woods near the Boeotian city of Orcomenus, when the famous hunter Actaeon found her by chance. Fascinated by her beauty, the young man stopped and stared at her nakedness. Diana discovered him and, as punishment, turned him into a stag. She then sent Actaeon's own hounds to kill him, who devoured him. This theme is already represented in ancient art, with examples such as the 5th century BC krater called "Artemis slaying Actaeon" or the Hellenistic marble reliefs of the same myth in the British Museum. Likewise, in 1684 Marc-Antoine Charpentier set to music a lyrical tragedy entitled "Actaeon". He was also depicted by numerous painters, including Parmigianino, Fontanellato, Titian and Delacroix.