Diana de Versailles is a marble statue depicting the Roman equivalent of Artemis. The goddess is seen resting her hand upon the head of a deer, while reaching for an arrow from her quiver. There is a significance to the way that she is paired with the deer rather than the traditionally associated hunting wolf. Artemis’ role in the Greek pantheon is one that lies towards a balance between femininity and purity, versus the traditionally masculine-associated activity of hunting, Diana de Versailles takes both aspects of Artemis and places them in harmony with each other rather than two exclusive traits.
Hunting is often the key thing associated with Artemis. The statue at a first glance is a very obvious representation of that. The pose of reaching for an arrow is indicative of an incoming action. She is poised and alert, ready for whatever prey she has her sights on. Additionally, while no longer a part of the statue, her hand resting above the deer was believed to be holding a bow. So the immediate read for this statue is that Artemis, baseline, is a hunter in action that demands a level of respect. We can see this side of Artemis in quite a handful of myths, such as Meleager & the Calydonian Boar Hunt (Morford, 2023). But what could potentially make the statue puzzling is the usage of the deer in the composition.
The deer plays a pivotal role in the entire piece to offset the initial impressions of the statue. Instead of what would be the assumed companion of a hunter’s dog, there is a deer. Artemis is seen having the deer as a sacred animal, as noted in the myth of Sophocles’ Electra (Morford, 2023). Which has an irony to it considering the popularity of the deer as a target in the hunt. To oversee this irony, one also has to understand Artemis’ role as a protector of purity. The deer seems like it holds a role as a representative of Artemis’ sanctuary of women, but also virginity. Making the dynamic of Artemis’ hunt less of a simple man-hunts-nature relationship.
Artemis in this statue is serving a role not only as a hunter, but also as a protector. The deer in my personal interpretation is not only of her own purity, but those she chooses to keep under her protection and serves as a stark contrast to the weaponry she holds.
Morford, M. P. O., Lenardon, R. J., & Sham, M. (2023). Classical mythology. Oxford University Press.