Woman with the Attributes of Diana

Date

1725

Description

Creator of the image: Pere Crusells
Date of the image creation: 1725
Medium of the image: Oil on canvas
Person depicted: A woman dressed as Diana

The woman portrayed in Crusells’ painting is allegorically connected to the goddess Diana, She wields Diana’s signature bow and, in this case, an impractically small arrow. The woman has a moon symbol on her headdress. Her expression captures some of Diana’s paradoxical nature: aloof yet directly engaging the viewer.

Diana is the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon and childbirth. She is the twin of Apollo, daughter of Jupiter and Latona. Diana was associated with the woodland — particularly oak trees — and said to be able to speak with animals. She was associated with light, virginity and seen as inaccessible, indifferent to mortal matters: she dwells in sacred distant woodlands. Yet, at the same time, paradoxically, she was on call for women wanting to get pregnant or to have a safe delivery, and thus is involved with preservation of humanity through the protection of childbirth.

The painter of this image is Pere Crusells, born the son of a shoemaker in Barcelona around 1672. He studied to become a painter, specialising in miniatures. The artwork is currently in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.

Quotes

No quotes found.