In 20 they were bought for the nation jointly by the National Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland. It was common at the time for artists to make copies and variants of successful compositions for other patrons.įor many years, Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto were on loan to the Scottish National Gallery from the Duke of Sutherland’s collection. Probably in the mid-1560s, some years after the dispatch of Diana and Callisto to Spain, Titian and his workshop produced a full-sized variant of it (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). For some reason, Titian never sent this painting to the King and it remained in his studio unfinished at his death. Around the time he was working on the pair, Titian began another painting associated with them, The Death of Actaeon. In any case, the two paintings have remained together throughout their history. This indicates that Titian had a placement between two windows in mind, even if only in the abstract – Philip was moving around at the time, and it is highly unlikely that he had a specific destination for the pictures. However, the light as depicted falls from opposite sides – from the left in Diana and Actaeon and the right in Diana and Callisto. We know that the pictures were designed to be displayed together as a stream flows from one to the other, creating a rhythm across the two canvases. The Roman author Plutarch’s observation that ‘Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks’ was frequently cited in favour of painting.ĭiana and Callisto was delivered to Philip along with Diana and Actaeon in 1559. This comparison recalls the paragone, a debate among artists and theorists in Renaissance Italy about the rival claims made for the arts. Titian coined the term ‘ poesie’ (poems) for his compositions because he regarded them as the visual equivalents of poetry. In the next part of the story, shamed Callisto is transformed into a bear by Jupiter’s jealous wife Juno, but is later immortalised by him as the constellation Ursa Major – the Great Bear.ĭiana and Callisto is one of six large mythological paintings that Titian produced between 15 for Prince Philip, King of Spain from 1556, all of which have subjects drawn from the Metamorphoses. The cord at the upper edge of the canopy that secures the fabric to the branches is a simple streak of lead white paint that relies on our eye to give it meaning. The unicorn pattern of the gold cloth hanging over the tree is worked wet-in-wet, with glittering impasto highlights. Trees sway, streaks of golden cloud swirl in the sky and the stone pier tilts disconcertingly. The contours of the figures dissolve as the thinnest of dragged brushstrokes are swept over the surface of the canvas, contributing to the sense of dynamism and movement. Voluptuous flesh is suggested in energetic and thick buttery strokes of paint. The drama is heightened by Titian’s free and expressive brushwork. Titian shows her humiliating exposure and banishment from Diana’s chaste entourage. Callisto sprawls on the ground with legs and arms flailing. At the goddess’s command Callisto is pinned down by her fellow nymphs and her clothes wrenched away, exposing her swollen belly. Titian has painted the moment Diana forces Callisto to strip and bathe after hunting and discovers her pregnancy. Jupiter, king of the gods, noticed her beauty and seduced her by disguising himself as Diana. The nymph Callisto was the favourite of Diana, virgin goddess of the hunt.
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