# Diana and Actaeon

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/schmidt-martin-johann-rf95844237c3108/diana-and-actaeon-rcd9698be5e4959>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [SCHMIDT, Martin Johann](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/schmidt-martin-johann-rf95844237c3108>)
- Date: 1751-1800
- Technique: Oil on copper, 77 x 55 cm

## Commentary

Ovid describes at length \(Met. 3:138-253\) how the young prince Actaeon, hunting in the forest, stumbled accidentally upon the grotto where Diana and her companion were bathing. To punish him for the glimpse of divine nudity, the goddess turned him into a stag. He was pursued and torn to pieces by his own hounds. The painting depicts when Actaeon has sprouted antlers. He staggers backwards as his own dogs spring at him. The French influence on Kremser-Schmidt&#39;s masterpiece is particularly obvious in the figures of the nymphs, especially the one in the foreground. The painting is signed and dated at the bottom in the middle: M. J. Schmidt f. / Ao. 1785. &lt;P&gt; &lt;TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR=&#34;\#99CCCC&#34;&gt; &lt;TR VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt;&lt;TD&gt;&lt;IMG SRC=&#34;/support/gif/listen.gif&#34; BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt; Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 9 minutes\):&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A HREF=&#34;\#&#34; onClick=&#34;w=window.open \(&#39;/music1/18\_cent/haydn\_autumn\_23-26\_hunt.html&#39;, &#39;newWin&#39;, &#39;scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350&#39;\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true&#34;&gt;&lt;B&gt;Joseph Haydn: The Seasons, Part 3 Autumn, aria and chorus \(Hunters&#39; chorus\)&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;

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- [The Judgment of King Midas between Apollo and Marsyas](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/schmidt-martin-johann-rf95844237c3108/the-judgment-of-king-midas-between-apollo-and-marsyas-r1dbe8dc58a3627>)
- [The Painter and his Family](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/schmidt-martin-johann-rf95844237c3108/the-painter-and-his-family-r9aa5c58eb0ad51>)
- [Venus and Cupid in Vulcan&#39;s Forge](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/schmidt-martin-johann-rf95844237c3108/venus-and-cupid-in-vulcans-forge-r2725e88ba72e7e>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)