Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer painted Diana and Her Nymphs around 1653–1654, just after joining the painters’ guild in Delft. The scene emanates a salutary atmosphere of tranquility. Five women have gathered in a clearing in the woods, each one absorbed in her own thoughts. Diana is seated in the center, recognizable by her standard attribute of a crescent moon on her head. The kneeling woman is solicitously washing Diana’s feet, watched by the dog on the left. The woman in the red blouse beside Diana is rubbing her foot. The woman who is standing, dressed in black, gazes at the ground. The fifth woman, on the left, has her back to us. Although the subject matter, the large figures filling the picture plane, and the warm coloring of this painting all differ from Vermeer’s later interiors, its subdued, dreamy atmosphere does strike a similar chord.
In classical mythology, Diana is a daughter of Jupiter and Leto and Apollo’s twin sister. She is the virginal and youthful moon goddess and the goddess of hunting. She is usually depicted in the open countryside, accompanied by her devoted nymphs. Painters would often depict the story about the huntsman Actaeon, who unintentionally comes upon Diana and her nymphs while bathing. To punish him for looking at her she changes him into a stag, after which his own dogs kill him. Another popular tale focuses on the discovery that one of Diana’s nymphs, Callisto, is pregnant (by Jupiter). The chaste Diana punishes the pregnant nymph by turning her into a bear. We do not encounter any such violent, emotional scenes in Vermeer. The women depicted here are taking a moment’s repose.
We present today's painting thanks to the Mauritshuis, Hague.
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P.S. Here are 5 things you should know about Johannes Vermeer! And if you want to get a closer look at some of Vermeer's most interesting paintings, check out the story about his Art of Painting and see the articles below!