This is taken from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' which describes the hunter Actaeon inadvertently happening upon the goddess Diana bathing with her nymphs.

Enraged that a mortal has seen her naked, Diana throws water at Actaeon, transforming him into a stag, which is subsequently devoured by his hunting hounds. This is the earliest of three surviving studies for the work in the Royal Collection.

Provenance

Sir Richard Wallace; Sir John Murray Scott; Lady sackville; Nigel Nicholson; Marchioness of Angsley; Hon. Rupert Paget; Sothebys.


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