The Death of Procris

The Death of Procris at the Gardner Museum illustrates the tragic Ovidian myth where Cephalus accidentally kills his wife while hunting. Veronese's mythological paintings at the Gardner form an important group that demonstrates his narrative range across classical subjects. The death of Procris offers Veronese an opportunity to combine the beauty of the pastoral landscape with the poignancy of violent loss—the huntress killed by the very javelin that never misses its mark.

The composition captures the pathos of the discovery with restrained emotion. Veronese's palette combines the green tones of the forest setting with the pale flesh of the dying Procris, creating a mood of elegiac beauty.