The Bath of Diana

The goddess Diana bathes in a river, accompanied by the nymphs and dogs that were the constant companions of the goddess of the hunt. In this dreamlike and poetic landscape populated by mythological figures, Camille Corot uses a muted palette of greens, grays, and browns to depict the forms of trees, rocks, and hills. Though the scene of Diana at her bath was often treated as an erotic subject in painting, the nude figures here appear lightly immaterial and even chaste. Corot's work was greatly admired by his fellow artists, including Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet, and Pablo Picasso.