Oil on copper

Accompanied by an expert's report by dr. Klaus Ertz, Lingen, 12 february 2022.

The subject of the picture comes from ancient mythology, handed down by the writer Ovid. Several artists - especially in the 17th century - have taken up the motif, such as Frans Snyders. Like Rubens, in contrast to earlier prudential times, artists saw such ancient themes as an opportunity to depict nudity. Here in the picture the young nymphs have grouped around their mistress Diana to sleep after the hunt under a tree and a protective coarse velum.
They sit and lie down on colored cloths, deeply asleep. They are looked at by two youthful satyrs, one holding up the roof velum, the other grasping the red silk handkerchief of a nymph. Only Diana herself and the one sitting next to her seem to be paying attention with half-open but still sleepy eyes. The fact that the arrogance of the satyrs will have bitter consequences is proven by the parallel tradition, according to which the hunter Actaeon also had to pay for his curiosity by being transformed into a stag and torn to pieces by the hunting dogs. Highly varied and painted in high quality, there are hunting elements on the ground to the right and on the tree to the left, and the game that has been killed in the foreground. However, the rendering of the light flesh tones of the female figures predominates in the pictorial effect against the dark background. The painting was created in collaboration between the two artists mentioned. In each case, the best experts in the individual areas have created works that could not usually be accomplished by an individual.

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