Diana in a Landscape

Louis-Michel van Loo was one of the most accomplished French court portraitists of the mid-eighteenth century, from a dynasty of Flemish painters who had worked in France for generations. His Diana in a Landscape from 1739 is an unusual excursion into mythological painting for an artist best known for portraiture, though it may have been a portrait in the guise of Diana — a type that his contemporaries Nattier and Drouais made their specialties. Van Loo had been trained partly in Rome and brought a fluent command of the idealized academic figure to his French subjects.

The figure of Diana is situated in an open landscape with her characteristic hunting attributes. Van Loo's technique reflects his academic training — solid, confident drawing underpins a smooth painted surface with warm flesh tones and carefully rendered textile textures.