

Diana and Actaeon (Diana Surprised in Her Bath)
1836
From its imposing size to its refined execution, this painting is elegant testimony to Corot’s ingenuity: the landscape appears surprisingly natural, yet it is painstakingly composed. The narrative, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, recounts the fate of a young hunter Actaeon as he encounters the naked figure of the goddess Diana and her nymphs enjoying a woodland bath. Diana, in a fit of embarrassed fury, splashes water on the unwitting hunter, transforming him into a deer.
There is a marked difference between the general tight handling of paint and tonal contrasts, and the background on the left, which is sketchy and silvery in tone, typical of Corot’s late style. A year before the artist died, he was asked to repaint this passage as a courtesy to the picture’s new owner. (Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Notes from the contributor:
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
There is a marked difference between the general tight handling of paint and tonal contrasts, and the background on the left, which is sketchy and silvery in tone, typical of Corot’s late style. A year before the artist died, he was asked to repaint this passage as a courtesy to the picture’s new owner. (Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Notes from the contributor:
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
- Size:
- 61 5/8 x 44 3/8 in. (156.5 x 112.7 cm)
- Medium:
- Oil on canvas
- License:
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- For more:
- http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459093
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