The Huntress and the fool -Caitlin Stephens

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

This gallery contains mediums and pieces of work that illustrate the story of Diana (Greek version- Artemis) and Actaeon. Actaeon was a great hunter, one day he ventured too far into the woods and came across the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis, as she was bathing. Instead of running away he stared and revealed himself. Diana was furious! How dare he! A mere mortal man stare upon her! With that, she transformed him into a stag before calling his own hounds who in turn tore him to pieces. Diana was the Goddess of hunt and protector of maidens. Each piece in this gallery expresses a different moment within the same story.

Mixing bowl (bell krater), the Pan Painter, about 470 B.C., From the collection of: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
In this scene we have Actaeon already being torn apart by his hounds, Diana has drawn her bow and arrow ready to assist them if needed. This piece has an excellent use of space and balance. The characters in the middle are around the same size despite that Artemis is standing and Actaeon is on the ground. The black background has a nice contrast to the orange-red color of the subjects. The border around the scene helps create a balanced sense of positive and negative space.
Diana and Actaeon, Titian, 1556-9, From the collection of: The National Gallery, London
This is the first piece in this series by Titan commissioned by King Philip II of Spain. Here, Actaeon has just revealed himself and has just been noticed. The artist has used a variety of colors, shapes, and textures in this dynamic piece. Some of the shapes include architectural pillars and archways. There's an illusion of movement, as he walks toward her and she tries to hide herself. Almost everyone's eyes are focused on either Diana or Actaeon, which forces your eyes to move back and forth between the two, which allows you to scan the piece. There's a palette of warm and cool colors within it and ranges from the different fabric material and the earth, stone and sky. The females skin creates a contrast with it's surrounding area.
Diana and Actaeon, Hans Rottenhammer, c. 1596 - 1606, From the collection of: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
In this piece, Actaeon is the focal point in the center of the composition, framed by nature, the columns and the blue sky. He has not been spotted yet or revealed, and unlike many of the other pieces, lies in the background with one point perspective. If feels as if we are next to the Goddess and her nymphs, instead of an outsider watching the scene unfold. The colors in the piece rely on the primary colors, as each of the different textures of fabrics in the foreground are blue, red and yellow.
Diana and Actaeon, Alessandro Turchi, 1600, From the collection of: Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins
In this piece Actaeon has just revealed himself to Diana and her nymphs where there's a dynamic illusion of movement as he bows and the women try to retreat. Since Diana is without her weapon, she is bending down getting ready to use the water to turn him into a stag. Since both the main characters are crouching or bending in the scene, your eyes automatically scan between the two. Actaeon is dressed in warm colors such as reds and yellow, where as the women are draped in cool colors, like blue, pink and purple. The skin of the women seem to glow in comparison to the water and rocks behind them but still have realistic shape and shading.
Diana and Actaeon, Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1600, From the collection of: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
This painting is unique compared to all the other pieces, as that Actaeon is barley visible. This piece uses proportion very well, having Actaeon very far in the background and the women being different sizes. There's a lot of variety going on in this piece with different animals, and jewelry, as well as the action and movement going on between the women. They each have interesting unique poses, such as one woman having her arm draped over her head, one is kneeling speaking with a cherub, and another having her arm extended straight. The organic shapes of the dark leaves and trees create a nice contrast to the soft flowing lines of the women's skin. The scene seems very peaceful and undisturbed since Actaeon hasn't entered the scene yet.
Diana and Actaeon, Giuseppe Cesari, ca. 1602–1603, From the collection of: Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Here, Actaeon is already in mid transformation as Diana and her nymphs are bathing, some are trying to cover themselves. This piece has excellent use of color, unity and lines. The females lines are soft and curved accentuating their femininity, while Actaeon has sharp lines with dark shading. The colors are balanced and compliment each other well. Each of the women have different facial expressions and have unique realsitic poses. Actaeon has a striking red cape to draw attention to himself and the difference between the blues and greens of nature. Once again, the pale skin of the Diana and her nymphs are a lovely contrast to the to the earth and dark rock behind them.
Diana and Actaeon, Thomas Gainsborough, 1785 - 1788, From the collection of: Royal Collection Trust, UK
This piece may be the most unique to the series, as that it is unfinished. The painting was retrieved years after the artists death, from his his nephew in 1788. The art style is similar to impressionism, with it's brush stroke and leisurely feel. The subjects are almost enclosed in nature, if not flowing into it, becoming the main focal point. Many of the women are looking upward, which leads us to believe that this is where Actaeon may be. The line work is very fluid and soothing, and it matches well with the organic brushwork of the leaves in nature. This scene also has very little color compared to others, composing of greens and yellows, even the water and sky have very little blue in them.
Diana and Actaeon, Unknown artist, turn of 17th/18th c., From the collection of: The Wilanów Palace Museum
This is the most up close and personal piece in the series. Actaeon has begun his transformation as Diana and the Nymphs shyly and curiously continue to watch. It looks as though he is still trying to engage Diana as her Nymphs protect her and hold him back. The movement is very dynamic as we can see many different actions going on at once. Diana is shown with goddess symbol above her head and her bow and arrow behind her. The scene is well balanced, almost symmetrical, with two characters further in the back, and three in the middle. Since the nymph in the middle is embracing Diana, it forces your eyes to her and then following her line of sight back to Actaeon. Everyone in the scene is covered in different fabrics of primary colors, of red, blue and yellow.
Diana and Acteon, Allyn Cox, 1948-1949, From the collection of: Dumbarton Oaks Museum
The composition in this rendition of Diana and Acteon stand out compared to the other pieces in the gallery. This extremely colorful, balanced and symmetrical scene we see Acteon, as he is in the middle of his transformation. This piece has a very limited perspective and rather than being shown in one whole window it's split into three separate windows with different subject matter in each. As your eyes move across the piece the story unfolds as you see who has caused his transformation. Unlike the other pieces, this bath seems to be in a temple of some sort and has less nature surrounding them. The temple is adorned with fabrics, statues and fountains and is filled with many geometric shapes. The colors have a tetradic color scheme with reds and oranges and blues and greens.
The Death of Actaeon, Titian, about 1559-75, From the collection of: The National Gallery, London
In this final painting, and the second piece in Titan's Actaeon and Diana series, we see Actaeon's demise. This is a more morbid version of his transformation and death considering we see him being over taken by the hounds. The darker color scheme reflect the darker moment within this story. He has already seen Artemis, has already been transformed and is being mauled by his hounds. While this piece is called "The Death of Actaeon" he is hardly the focal point. The depth of the painting has the goddess at a larger proportion creating an asymmetrical balance, which guides your eyes from left to right. The painting has different values of brown, green, dark yellow and red.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
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