Landscape with Diana and Actaeon
by LISSE, Dirck van der, Oil on panel, 35 x 47 cm
Ovid describes at length (Met. 3:138-253) how the young prince Actaeon, hunting in the forest, stumbled accidentally upon the grotto where Diana and her companion were bathing. To punish him for the glimpse of divine nudity, the goddess turned him into a stag.
The story with Diana and Actaeon was a favourite with the late Mannerist painters. This is understandable, because the myth, particularly in Ovid’s playful, witty and lively presentation, contains both stimulatingly erotic and shivering horror story elements and thus was perfectly suited for the contemporary spirit.