Plaquette with Diana and Actaeon

Paulus van Vianen made this plaquettes and the one with a scene from Pan and Syrinx (inv.nr. 14746) at the height of his career. In 1603 he started work for the Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. During the two previous years he had worked in Salzburg at the court of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau. In this period, landscapes became an important inspiration. The idealized figures in the mythological scenes on these plaquettes have also been placed in realistic landscapes. This piece from 1612 depicts shepherd Actaeon turning into a stag, after having spied on goddess Diana taking a bath. He is later ripped to shreds by his own hounds.