Diana Discovering the Pregnancy of Callisto

Diana Discovering the Pregnancy of Callisto depicts the mythological moment when the virgin huntress discovers her nymph’s betrayal by Jupiter. Kauffmann treated this dramatic subject from Ovid’s Metamorphoses with characteristic restraint, emphasizing the emotional tension between the women rather than the more salacious elements favored by earlier painters. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays graceful, decorative Neoclassicism combining classical subject matter with a lyrical sweetness, soft color, elegant figure types, pendant portraits and mythological scenes.

Kauffmann arranges the female figures in a classical frieze-like composition. The woodland setting provides a naturalistic backdrop rendered in her characteristically soft, harmonious palette.