Diana Returning from the Hunt
François Boucher·1745
Historical Context
Diana Returning from the Hunt at the Musée Cognacq-Jay (1745) depicts the goddess of the hunt with her nymphs after a day's sport in a forest clearing — a subject that combined mythological authority with the display of female beauty in a state of athletic disarray that conventional propriety might not otherwise sanction. Diana's status as goddess of the chase and of female chastity made her an ideologically safe subject for depicting partially undressed women in outdoor settings, and Boucher returned to the theme multiple times. The Musée Cognacq-Jay, housed in a Left Bank townhouse collected by the founders of La Samaritaine department store and left to the city of Paris, preserves an intimate collection of French eighteenth-century art that provides an authentic domestic context for works designed to decorate aristocratic interiors. The museum's small scale and intimate rooms approximate the original display conditions for which Boucher's cabinet paintings were intended.
Technical Analysis
Boucher renders the mythological scene with his signature luminous flesh tones and a palette of soft blues, pinks, and greens. The elegant arrangement of the nude figures in the landscape setting exemplifies the sensuous decorative ideal of the French Rococo.
Look Closer
- ◆Diana's hunting dogs still press around her legs with excited energy — Boucher rendering post-hunt behavior with behavioral truth.
- ◆Diana's quiver and bow are laid aside but present — the hunt's defining attributes visible as the warrior goddess rests.
- ◆The nymphs are depicted in the disarray of post-hunt relaxation — hair loosened, clothing displaced — made acceptable by the outdoor context.
- ◆The warm light of the clearing catches the figures after the cooler forest shade — Boucher creating a golden illumination of athletes at rest.
_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg&width=600)
