Diana and Her Nymphs Departing for the Hunt

Description

Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, wears a crescent on her forehead, also identifying her as the moon goddess. Diana lived apart from men, accompanied by a group of nymphs; she often represented unattainable beauty or chastity. With a nymph at left fending off a lustful satyr, Rubens refers to a struggle between vice and virtue, combining a sensual display of female bodies with a moral undertone. To bring the viewer more fully into the narrative, Rubens pulls the full-bodied figures to the front of the picture plane, and Diana steps forward, activating the space between viewer and subject. The nymph at the right has the features of Isabella Brant, the artist’s wife, and can be compared with Rubens’s portrait of her, also in the museum's collection.

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1959-); (Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1959); Édouard [1868-1949] and Germaine [1884-1975] de Rothschild, Chantilly, sold to Rosenberg & Stiebel through Robert Leclerc1 (1948-1959); In possession of the Allies; restituted to Édouard and Germaine de Rothschild1 (1945-1948); In possession of Hermann Goering [1893-1946], probably Carinhall, Brandenburg1 (1942-1945); In possession of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR), selected by Hermann Goering for his collection1 (1940-1942); Édouard [1868-1949] and Germaine [1884-1975] de Rothschild, Ferrières, confiscated by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR)1 (Probably 1905-1940); Mayer Alphonse de Rothschild [1827-1905], Ferrières, by descent to his son, Édouard de Rothschild (Probably by 1899-1905); Thomas George Baring, First Earl of Northbrook [1826-1904], sold to Mayer Alphonse de Rothschild1 (1873-probably by 1889); Thomas Baring, Esq. [1799-1873], London, by descent to his nephew Thomas George Baring1 (By 1857-1873); C. Nieuwenhuys, sold to Thomas Baring (1840-by 1854); (Clarke sale, Christie's, London, May 8-9, 1840, no. 52, sold to C. Nieuwenhuys) (1840); Sir Simon H. Clarke, 10th Baronet Clarke [1818-1849], Oakhill, Hertfordshire (1803-1840); (Sale, Greenwood & Co., London, Feb. 19, 1803, probably sold to Simon H. Clarke)1 (1803); (Michael Bryan, London?)1 (1802-1803); (Clarke/Hibbert sale, Christie's, London, May 14-15, 1802, no. 71, sold to Michael Bryan)1 (1802); Sir Simon Haughton Clarke, 9th Baronet Clarke [1764-1832], Oakhill, Hertfordshire, and George Hibbert [1757-1837]1 (Probably 1798-1802); (Coxe, Burrel & Foster, London, Bryan sale, May 17, 1798, no. 42, sold to Simon H. Clarke)1 (1798); Michael Bryan [1757 – 1821], London1 (Until 1798); Van Coevorden1 (1796=); (C. Blasius, et.al., Amsterdam, Hooft estate sale, August 31, 1796, no. 32, sold to van Coevorden) (1796); Elisabeth Hooft [c. 1711-1796], Amsterdam (1784-1796); Wouter Valckenier and family [1705-1784], Amsterdam, by descent to his widow, Elisabeth Hooft (Until 1784)