17th Utrecht School Large Mythological Scene Diane And Actaeon

Large mythological oil painting on canvas "Diana and her nymphs surprised by Actaeon", Utrecht school, 17th century.

The scene takes place in a wooded landscape with dark tones, against a leaden sky: we are in the moment before the discovery of Actaeon by Diana and her nymphs, who are bathing in a body of water. The goddess is in a central position, from behind, half-naked: we recognize her by the small moon she wears in her hair and the quiver placed behind her, as well as her scarlet dress; a nymph offers her a crown of flowers but the goddess seems to indicate something in the clearing and the other nymphs and satyrs turn to look in the same direction, where Actaeon is hidden. The scene is animated by many characters and by a white goat in the foreground.
The subject comes from Ovid's "Metamorphosis": Actaeon surprises the goddess Diana and her nymphs while they are bathing in the water and the goddess punishes him for seeing her nudity by transforming him into a stag and having him torn to pieces by her dogs.

The Utrecht School or Utrecht painting is a reflexive pictorial tradition, to a certain extent, a characteristic of its own during the period from 1580 to 1630, which draws on most Dutch villas, and is marked in particular by an artist – Abraham Bloemaert – and a movement – ​​the Caravaggio school. "Center of pictorial art" for centuries, Utrecht played a leading role in this field in the Northern Netherlands in the 15th and 17th centuries.

Within the Utrecht School, the genre known as the "Italianants" emerged, a group of mostly Dutch northern European painters who travelled to Italy and adopted a style and technique similar to those of the Italian landscape painters of the period. These painters stayed in Italy for a long time, particularly in Rome, and worked there. The paintings of the Italianants show imaginary hilly landscapes, bathed in a clear and often golden light, imported from Italy, which plays a leading role in these works. They are populated by small figures who, in the case of the first generation of these artists, participate in scenes representing mostly biblical, mythological or literary subjects.

Very good condition, formerly relined. In an 18th century Italian neoclassical frame in gilded wood.

Measurements
Canvas 97 x 73 cm
Frame 108 x 83.5 cm

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