09 December 2009

The Hunt of Diana

Deity:Diana

Title: The Hunt of Diana

Artist: Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino)

Dimensions: cm. 225x320

Medium: oil on canvas

Date: 1616-17

Location: Gallery Borghese- Rome, Italy

Source:http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/ediana.htm

Photo: http://www.artexpertswebsite.com/pages/artists/artists_a-k/domenichino/Domenichino_TheHuntOfDiana.jpg


Significance of the work:


This painting uses Diana and her nymphs to relate the events of the archery contest of book five in Virgil’s Aeneid. The archers in the painting and the poem first shoot a tree, then a ribbon, and finally a falling bird. Domenicho was working under Cardinal Aldobrandini, but this painting was taken by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to decorate his villa. Diana is the Roman goddess of the hunt and protector of children. Her Greek equivalent is Artemis.

No comments:

Post a Comment