Diana Bathing (Primary Title)
Joseph Werner the Younger, Swiss, 1637 - 1710 (Artist)
The goddess Diana seems to stare directly back at
the viewers of this fascinating watercolor scene,
disrupting and complicating the usual relationship
between artistic representation and spectator. Werner
positions the beholder in the role of Actaeon, an
unfortunate hunter in Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses,
who accidentally discovers the virgin goddess in the
mountain valley as she commences her midday bath.
The artist does not show the violent outcome of the tale:
an enraged Diana transforms Actaeon into a stag,
condemning him to be devoured by his own hounds.
Instead, he alludes to her fury by depicting the moment
the goddess notices Actaeon’s presence. The stone
bridge, which also appears in Ovid’s tale, serves as a
frame for an Italianate mountain range reminiscent
of the landscapes of Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665). A
lecherous river god peers down from atop the natural
bridge to secretly spy on the goddess as she bathes.
The viewer is implicated in this act of voyeurism and
simultaneously invited to admire the beauty of the
landscape through a peephole crafted by both nature
and art.
The Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection
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