Diana e Atteone
Historical Context
Diana and Actaeon, painted in 1743 and now in the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection in Zürich, depicts the fateful moment from Ovid when the hunter Actaeon accidentally sees the goddess Diana bathing and is transformed into a stag. The subject, combining mythological narrative with the female nude in a landscape setting, was among the most popular in Baroque and Rococo painting. Tiepolo's luminous treatment transforms the violent myth into a scene of decorative splendor. The Bührle Collection, one of the most important private art collections in Switzerland, includes major works spanning European painting from the medieval period to Impressionism.
Technical Analysis
High-keyed palette of silvery blues, pinks, and creams creates a brilliantly lit scene that seems to take place in pure, crystalline atmosphere. The figures' dramatic gestures and spatial arrangement show Tiepolo's complete mastery of multi-figure mythological composition.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the high-keyed palette of silvery blues, pinks, and creams creating a brilliantly lit scene in pure, crystalline atmosphere as Diana discovers the intruding Actaeon.
- ◆Look at the dramatic gestures and spatial arrangement showing Tiepolo's complete mastery of multi-figure mythological composition.
- ◆Observe this 1743 Bührle Collection painting capturing the fateful moment of transformation from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
