Actaeon1.0191_Vanvitelli

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OGCMA s.v. "Actaeon"

Luigi Vanvitelli, "Diana and Actaeon," marble fountain figures, c. 1770; in the base of the Great Cascade, the Royal Park (Parco Reale), Caserta, Italy.

Fairly conventional groupings of sculpture — Diana and her nymphs, Actaeon and his dogs — at the top of a long climb from the Regia (Royal Palace of king Carlo III). This hunting scene is the focal point of the grounds of Caserta.

White marble sculptures of a mythical hunting scene in a pond with a waterfall and trees in the background

The classic first phase of the Actaeon, as told by Ovid Met. 3.138 ff. Actaeon unwittingly stumbles upon Diana and her nymphs while bathing. For Titian's painting, click here: Actaeon1.0033_Titian

Click the photo for higher resolution. Other photographs of the surrounding and higher resolution images: Diana and Nymphs, Acateon and the Dogs, The Great Cascade and fountain, the Regia from the fountain.

OGCMA slides are designed by Roger T. Macfarlane for use in Classical Civilization 241 courses at Brigham Young University and other contexts.
This resource contains information assembled for The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, and it is used with express permission from Oxford University Press.
Address concerns or inquiries to macfarlane@byu.edu.