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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1954.129
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Diana on a Hunt
Other Titles
Former Title: Diana with Calisto, Cupid, a Lion and a Dragon
Classification
Textile Arts
Work Type
tapestry
Date
1650-1700
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Belgium, Brussels
Culture
Flemish
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215043

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Textile fibers
Dimensions
251.5 x 142.2 cm (99 x 56 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Mrs. Cortlandt Parker, gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1954

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mrs. Cortlandt Parker
Accession Year
1954
Object Number
1954.129
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
This fragment depicts a scene from a Diana hunt. Diana imagery was popular in tapestries of this period: some of the compositions illustrate a particular mythological narrative, such as Diana and Actaeon or Diana and Callisto. Other Diana tapestries (including this one) have less specific themes, such as Diana hunting a fox or a boar, or the repose of Diana and her nymphs. Here, we see a wooded landscape with Diana wielding a hunting spear while one of her nymphs prepares to launch an arrow in the background. Above, Cupid comes to their aid or attempts to stop them. In the foreground running alongside Diana are a lion and a winged, fire-breathing dragon. The dragon is associated with Diana because dragons drive her chariot (the moon) across the night sky. A large portion of the composition is missing, and the evidence for Diana as the main figure is not entirely conclusive; an alternative iconographic reading would be Atalanta hunting the Calydonian boar, with Meleager and the boar appearing in the missing zones.

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu