Description

According to Roman myth, Actaeon, a mortal youth, was out hunting when he came upon Diana, the goddess of the moon and the hunt, bathing with her nymphs in a secret grotto. To punish him for his intrusion, Diana transformed Actaeon into a stag, and he was subsequently killed by his own hounds. With its poetic, silvery light and broken, dabbed brushstrokes, this small painting is a rare example of Jacopo Bassano’s hand at the end of his career. Working in the small town of Bassano del Grappa, Jacopo was one of the most influential painters in Venice and the surrounding region. His four sons carried his lively, colorful, and naturalistic style forward into the 17th century.

Provenance

Possibly Jacopo Bassano (died 1592), Venice [inventory of studio content dated April 27, 1592, drawn up shortly after the artist’s death, "No. 130. L’Istoria d’Ateo, d’un braccio d’ogni banda" (The Story of Actaeon, one braccio in every direction); see Giambatista Verci, "Notizie intorno alla vita e alle opere de’pittori, scultori e intagliatori dell città di Bassano," Venice, 1775, p. 75]. Dupille, Paris, by 1763 [engraved by E. Fessard; see Crozat, 1763.] E. and A. Silberman Galleries, New York, by 1939 [Letter from Charles H. Worcester's secretary to Silberman of October 5, 1939, in curatorial file]; sold by Silberman to Charles H. Worcester, Chicago, 1939; given to the Art Institute, 1939.

Diana and Actaeon

Jacopo Bassano

1585–92

Accession Number

110782

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

63.6 × 68.7 cm (25 × 27 in.); Framed: 82.6 × 88.3 × 10.2 cm (32 1/2 × 34 3/4 × 4 in.)

Classification

oil on canvas

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection