ARTEMIS
Vecellio, Tiziano. Diana and Actaeon. 1556-1559, National Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland, London and Edinberg.
Rachel Yin
In 1548, the aging Tiziano Vecellio met the young Prince Philip of Spain and their artistic relationship soon developed into one of the most fecund of the Renaissance (Allen). Known in English as Titian, Vecellio worked for Prince Philip, who would later become King Philip II of Spain. This relationship granted Titian an exceptional degree of freedom to independently pursue creative achievements. The trust and respect Titian enjoyed allowed him to produce some of the most ambitious works of his career, including the masterpiece Diana and Actaeon (Allen). This large-scale oil painting, produced between 1556 and 1559, is not just a representation of a mythological tale but also a powerful example of Titian's ability to merge artistic mastery with the cultural interests of his patron.
The Greek and Roman myths from Ovid’s Metamorphoses provided Titian with themes of seduction and hunting, which he strategically employed to appeal to the interests of the young prince (Penny et al. 115-116). The subjects and scene in Diana and Actaeon were based on the second story in book three of Metamorphoses, where the hunter Actaeon stumbles on the sacred pool of Diana. Titian’s depiction, set in an outdoor bath, portrays Actaeon mid-stride as he enters the scene from the far left and is caught by the sight of the nude goddess and her nymphs. This moment of shock and surprise is the critical turning point of the myth — one that Titian conveys with dramatic tension. In his composition, Actaeon is not the central focus despite being the male protagonist; his placement on the edge of the canvas emphasizes his position as an outsider in the sacred space of Diana. His collared dog is close by, a reminder of his role as a hunter, while a smaller dog beside Diana seems to take offense at Actaeon’s intrusion. While Diana is modestly covering herself with a white cloth, her six nymphs are scattered across the canvas in various postures and alarmed expressions.
In Ovid’s version of the myth in Metamorphoses, Diana and her nymphs had chosen to bathe after a long successful hunt, and Actaeon’s unintentional arrival startled them. Diana splashes Actaeon with water and transforms him into a deer. Now robbed of his ability to speak and stripped of his human form, Actaeon is ultimately tracked and killed by his own dogs — making the hunter into the hunted (La Fond 5:18 - 5:36). In Diana and Actaeon, this transformation is implied but not shown directly; Titian leaves it to the viewer’s imagination to contemplate the fate that awaits Actaeon following his intrusion. Consequently, the immediacy of the moment and its dramatic irony is heightened.
Titian’s portrayal follows the narrative of Diana, equated with Artemis as Greek goddess of the hunt, as an unmarried and inviolate virgin who surrounds herself with attractive young women who cannot always remain chaste (La Fond 6:21 - 7:19). Actaeon’s accidental transgression and gaze threatens Diana’s purity, and for this, he is punished. In the context of the Renaissance, Titian’s choice to explore this narrative would have resonated with the young Prince Philip’s own cultural and religious concerns, especially given the Catholic emphasis on the sanctity of the human body and the virtue of purity. Furthermore, the painting was used as a diplomatic gift to impress other European rulers and was later delivered to the French ambassador in 1704 (Allen). The diplomatic use of such works highlights their intended role not only as artistic achievements but also as cultural tools meant to convey certain ideals and values.
Diana and Actaeon represents a delicate balance between mythological storytelling and Renaissance artistic expression. Titian invites viewers to contemplate the delicate balance between humanity and divinity, purity and desire, and power and vulnerability. The painting’s lasting influence — evident in its later inclusion in major collections and exhibitions — demonstrates its enduring significance as both a masterful interpretation of myth and cornerstone of Renaissance art.
Jane Cox
In Titian’s canvas Diana and Callisto, he employs symbolism to explore the themes of chastity and loyalty, and how they are displayed by the tale of the goddess Diana and nymph Callisto. As described in the textbook Classical Mythology, this myth of transformation was recorded in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and follows the tragedy of a Callisto, Diana’s most beloved nymph. Disguising himself as Diana, Jupiter approaches Callisto when she is alone, and forces her into an affair. Due to her resulting pregnancy, Callisto is first banished by Diana from her company of nymphs, and then transformed by Juno into a constellation along with her child, Arcas (Morford 118).
Titian uses fluid figures and nudity to express the value Diana places on chastity. Diana reclines on a throne just right of the center of the painting, where she extends a long, graceful arm demanding that Callisto be stripped of her clothes to reveal her pregnancy. The nymph cowers in a much weaker, defensive position. Furthermore, there is a distinct difference in the way the two figures’ nudity is portrayed. Artemis shows no concern and covers no intimate parts of her body. She has a barely visible robe flung behind her, but clearly has no reason to be timid about displaying her naked body to her equally chaste followers. Titian successfully displays her nude body without sexualizing her by implying that her nudity implies nothing inappropriate. It is simply a part of the bathing process. In contrast, Callisto betrays her impurity by not wishing to strip naked. Since Diana expects an “insistence on purity and chastity and … vehemence against defilement of any sort,” she commands Callisto to remove her clothing and not be embarrassed about her body (Morford 118). After her repeated refusal, the other nymphs in the painting pounce on her and tear the robes she was wearing. Titian creates a powerful contrast here by using Callisto’s state of partial undress to reflect greater impurity and defilement than Diana’s state of complete nudity. While Callisto was raped and in no way willingly participated in her loss of chastity, Diana’s convictions are so strong that she will not allow a pregnant woman to be part of her following.
Also of great importance to Diana is loyalty, which Titian expresses through the dogs in the foreground. As Ovid describes, “no other girl who trod the Arcadian hills was dearer to the goddess,” but even her favor would not last forever because of her perceived betrayal (Morford 118). Again, even though Callisto made no choice in becoming pregnant, Diana’s standards are so high for those following her that she could not make even one exception. Dogs are commonly used as a symbol of fidelity in paintings, and the two in the foreground of Titian’s canvas certainly act in the same way. What is important to note is that neither of them look directly at Callisto. One turns its head away while the other is looking straight out at the viewer of the painting. They are also both on the side of the river with Diana. They remain where a loyal follower is expected to, and refuse to acknowledge the nymph who is no longer accepted in Diana’s circle. Again, Diana’s convictions are so strong that she cannot forgive a nymph who was once her favorite for breaking the trust they had once shared.
In conclusion, Titian’s canvas powerfully uses the symbolism of nudity and dogs to portray Diana’s virtues of chastity and loyalty, and the implications of going against these virtues. Viewers not only learn more about a classical figure of mythology, but are inspired to strive for the same levels of chastity and loyalty in their own lives, lest they suffer a similar fate.
Works Cited
Allen, Karly. “Teachers’ Notes: The Prince and the Painter.” The National Gallery, www.nationalgallery.org.uk/learning/teachers-and-schools/picture-in-focus/teachers-notes/prince-and-painter#:~:text=The%20ageing%20Titian%20first%20met,Museo%20Nacional%20del%20Prado%2C%20Madrid. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.
La Fond, Marie. “Sex and the Single Goddess: Artemis.” Greek And Roman Mythology. University of Washington, February 2025, canvas.uw.edu/courses/1782337/pages/lesson-4-video-lectures?module_item_id=22454084. Accessed 18 February 2025.
Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. Available from: University Bookstore Bookshelf, (12th Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2023.
Penny, Nicholas, et al. “Titian’s Painting Technique from 1540.” National Gallery Technical Bulletin, vol. 36, 2015, pp. 115-116. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44678399. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.