Jupiter, in the Guise of Diana, and Callisto

Jupiter, in the Guise of Diana, and Callisto at the Metropolitan Museum (1763) depicts the Ovidian myth in which Jupiter, disguised as the virgin goddess Diana, approached the nymph Callisto under the pretense of companionship and seduced her, resulting in her pregnancy and subsequent transformation into a bear. The subject allowed Boucher to paint two female figures in intimate contact within the legitimizing frame of classical mythology, and the erotic subtext — divine deception, apparent lesbian intimacy that conceals heterosexual coercion — was part of the subject's sophisticated appeal to aristocratic viewers who were expected to understand both the classical source and the layers of irony. Boucher treated this subject multiple times (versions also exist at the Nelson-Atkins Museum), demonstrating the subject's commercial viability within his mythological repertoire. The Metropolitan's paired oval format (25.5 × 21.6 cm) suggests decorative use, possibly as part of a series of Ovidian subjects for a boudoir or private apartment.

The two female figures are painted with Boucher's characteristic porcelain-smooth flesh tones, their intertwined forms creating an elegant compositional arabesque. The surrounding landscape is purely decorative, painted in soft blues and greens.