Diana

Copied Paul Manship, Diana, 1925, bronze, 49 x 43 in. (124.4 x 109.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1965.16.32A-B

Artwork Details

Title
Diana
Artist
Founder
Alexis Rudier Fondeur
Date
1925
Location
Dimensions
49 x 43 in. (124.4 x 109.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — hunter
  • Mythology — classical — Diana
  • Object — weapon — bow and arrow
  • Animal — dog
Object Number
1965.16.32A-B
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1965.16.32A-B

Artwork Description

This sculpture is one of a pair that Paul Manship created to illustrate the story of Diana and Actaeon. The hunter Actaeon surprised the goddess Diana while she was bathing. To punish him for seeing her naked, the goddess fired an arrow and turned him into a stag. In the sculpture, Diana appears with her bow raised, while in the accompanying piece Actaeon has just been hit and antlers sprout from his head. Manship linked the two sculptures by suggesting the flight of an unseen arrow, whose imaginary path through time and space connects the different moments in the story.