''Diana'' (french: Diane chasseresse, lit=Huntress Diana) is a painting from 1867 by the French painter

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

. It is thought to depict the painter's lover

Lise Tréhot Lise Tréhot (14 March 1848 – 12 March 1922) was a French art model who posed for artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir from 1866 until 1872, during his early Salon period. She appeared in more than twenty paintings, including notable works such as ' ...

as the Roman goddess Diana, although the exact identification of the model in the painting is disputed by art historians.

Subject and composition

The subject is Diana from

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

in her capacity as a huntress. The nude goddess sits on a large stone with her right foot on an elevated perch. Her stretched arms lean on her bow. Below her is a deer with its neck pierced by an arrow. The painting began as a nude study with a posed model in a studio. It follows the conventions of

academic art Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie d ...

as typified by the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

at the time. The model was Renoir's mistress and recurring model

. According to the painter, he added the attributes of Diana because "the picture was considered pretty improper", and turning it into a mythological subject would make it more acceptable. Details such as the blood coming from the deer's mouth and the moss on the rock's surface, as well as the use of a

palette knife A palette knife is a blunt tool used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible steel blade. It is primarily used for applying paint to the canvas, mixing paint colors, adding texture to the painted surface, paste, etc., or for marbling, decora ...

to apply paint, show influences from the Realist painter

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

. The bright green colours and red accents are however more reminiscent of the

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Renoir would become associated with a few years later. Although Tréhot is generally accepted to be the model, the art historian Michael F. Zimmermann said in 2012 that it is "probably not" her. Curator Sylvie Patry of the Musée d'Orsay also questions whether Tréhot is the model in the painting.Patry, Sylvie (March 24, 2022).
In search of Lise, Renoir's model and muse
. Jubilee Lecture Series 1922/2022.

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

. Retrieved September 21, 2022.

Provenance

The painting was submitted to the 1867 Salon but was rejected. Renoir had previously exhibited a painting at the Salon in 1864 although he destroyed it after the exhibition closed. In 1868 his '' Portrait of Lise'' was accepted to the Salon. ''Diana'' was in private collections until 1963 when

Chester Dale Chester Dale (May 3, 1883 – December 16, 1962) was an American banker and patron of the arts. Dale earned large sums from working for the New York Stock Exchange, allowing him to collect 19th and 20th-century French paintings. Although he consi ...

, who had bought it in 1933 from Etienne Bignou, bequeathed it to the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It is on view in the museum's West Building, Main Floor – Gallery 90.

Reception

Peter H. Feist has called the painting "a beautifully accurate nude, without the coarseness of Courbet's ''

Bathers A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, wo ...

'' 14 years before" and "far more healthy and realistic than—as Zola put it—the pampered, lustful nudes, powdered with rice flour, of the fashionable painters of that time".

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1867 paintings Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir Paintings depicting Diana (mythology) Nude art Collections of the National Gallery of Art Hunting in art Deer in art