On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01671
- Author
- Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- Diana and Calisto
- Chronology
- 1638-1640
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 202 cm x 323 cm x 4 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Calisto, one of the nymphs that
accompany Diana the huntress, was
seduced by Jupiter, thus breaking
her vow of chastity.
Rubens depicts the moment when the
nymph, on the right, refuses to
undress for her bath. Afraid the
others will discover her pregnancy,
she tries to keep the other nymphs
from removing her clothing. On the
left, attended by a slave, Diana
reaches out to her in a gesture of
affection and protection. The scene
takes place at the edge of a
forest, following a hunt whose
trophies and weapons are still
visible.
Rubens based this work on Ovid's
Metamorphosis (book II, 453-507),
giving the history a strong sensual
and poetic content, especially in
his treatment of the evening light.
Those are characteristics of his
final period, when his compositions
were quite still, abandoning the
strong diagonals and disequilibria
of his earlier works. The landscape
appears to have been painted by
Lucas van Uden, who occasionally
collaborated with Rubens.
The influence of Titian's
mythological paintings is clear in
this work, but Rubens is much more
understanding and indulgent in his
depiction of the nymph's
error.
This work was at Madrid's Alcázar
Palace in 1666.
Location on the map
