Peter Paul Rubens
During next month, every Wednesday and Sunday, we will show you an artwork from the database of wartime losses (www.lootedart.gov.pl) conducted by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. Due to World War II, Poland has lost over 70% of its material cultural heritage.
This painting was sent to The Society of Friends of Science in Poznań along with the collection transmitted in 1870 by Seweryn Mielżyński – a patron and collector. In 1939 the Wielkopolskie Musem became occupied by German authorities and was renamed the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Posen. Diana and Callisto was confiscated and included into KFMP's collections. The painting was stolen from the KFMP warehouse at the turn of 1940/1941 and its further fate remains unknown.