Actaeon1.0033

Titian, “Diana and Actaeon” 1556 – 1559, British National Gallery, NG 6611

Since this painting was acquired in 2009 from the Scottish National Gallery, the (British) National Gallery website typically has lots of interesting features and podcasts pertaining to its acquisition, interpretation, and so forth. Have a look, or click the link above. Click for NGPodcast #25. The painting is used especially effectively as background for Gary Moira's 2012 filmette called "Metamorphosis", launched for the 2012 London Games. (Commentary on Mark Wallinger's provocative 2012 installation's big-time backfire-- because it attracted instead of serious art-critique a "plethora of dirty old men" (Daily Mail)--points to a rather intriguing discourse on the continuity of classical myth.)

For the sequel, compare Actaeon1.0034_Titian, another of Titian's "poesie" paintings telling a story from Ovid. Titian frequently validates the narrative articulated the great Ovid in the Metamorphoses, and one can typically regard Titian's paintings as illustrations for that text. Titian's narrative gain may rightly be seen in the painter's ongoing attempt to tell better than anybody else Ovid's stories in oil on canvas. Titian and his peers saw Ovid as a master narrator; here he attempts to narrate in paint as well or better than the Roman.