Actaeon2.0006_Lefebvre

Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911), "Diana Sorprendida" (Diana Surprised) (1879), oil on canvas, 371.5 x 279 cm, Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes-

True to Ovid's description, Diana at her bath stands "a head taller" than any nymph in her train. Somewhere in the cool darkness of the glen where they have disrobed, a latent hunter has created enough noise for them unguarded women to fear suddenly for their safety. Since we know the story, we too are tempted to peer into the darkness to see whether we can see Actaeon lurking there, somewhere. What are his motives? Does he know the trouble he is bringing upon himself?

The artist seems less inclined to let our eye wander from the beautiful human forms in the foreground, even if our wind wants to probe the darkness to answer the questions about Actaeon. Lefebvre painted several female nudes — notably his "Penitent Magdalene" and "The Grasshopper" — which had less mythological context than this painting.