Diana and Actaeon - Lot 11

Diana and Actaeon Flemish tapestry, Antwerp Mid-17th century Part of a History of Diana hanging In the taste of Rubens H. 3.73 x W. 4.99 m H. 12ft 3 x W. 16ft 4½ Iconography: The scene, of great plastic quality, evokes the meeting of the hunter Actaeon and the goddess Diana. The goddess is surprised by the hunter bathing with his companions. She graciously pushes him away, spraying him with water from the cascade. However, irritated at being seen naked with her companions, as she has taken a vow of chastity, she seeks revenge on the indiscreet hunter by transforming him into a stag. This legend, recounted by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, was a great success in painting and tapestry, as it enabled Actaeon to be depicted at different stages of his metamorphosis. This tapestry features a rather rare iconography of Diana and Actaeon. Diana and her companions are usually depicted by a river rather than behind a waterfall, so close to Actaeon. The tapestry is very beautiful, evoking a fresco in a limited but harmonious palette of colors. Let's not forget that Flemish tapestries have been described as the mobile frescoes of the North. Materials and condition : Woven in wool and silk (wool warp, wool and silk weft), The tapestry is in good condition. Related tapestries: - Eric Duverger, in Artes Textiles n° VII, year 1971, pp. 117 - 139, discusses a History of Diana hanging, comprising seven tapestries, woven in Brussels in the workshop of Andries van den Dries; one of the tapestries (Le Départ de Diane) is an inverted copy of a painting attributed to Rubens kept at the Prado. - Two tapestries from the same Histoire de Diane are known in their Antwerp version: the present tapestry (Diane et Actéon) and a tapestry that sold in London on December 11, 1981 at Sotheby's (no. 15) depicting Le Repos de Diane. Provenance : - French private collection