Le Bain de Diane
Le Bain de Diane is a French 1550s painting attributed to François Clouet, located in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen. The painting reflects the contemporary conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Clouet's France.
Description
This painting depicts Diana, the goddess of chastity, bathing. Two satyrs court her deep in the woods with her nymphs. The seated nymph is supposed to represent Catherine de Medici mourning the death of Henry II. The standing nymph represents Diane de Poitiers, Henry II's mistress. Finally, the nymph holding the wedding veil is Mary Stuart, wife of Francis II, a newcomer to the family. In the background, a man on a black horse is accompanied by a dog. He appears to have killed a stag, which other dogs are tearing apart.Analysis
According to Eckhardt Knab, writing in The Dictionary of Art, the painting is an example of an allegorical landscape. It makes reference to the new marriage of Francis II and Mary Stuart. Clouet's painting reveals his influence from Rosso Fiorentino, Francesco Primaticcio, and Nicolo dell'Abate, but tempers the overdrawn Mannerist bodily forms of these artists from the first School of Fontainebleau, while the landscape reflects the influence of Giorgione and the early Titian.This painting depicts badly both the king's mistress, Diane de Poitiers, and the Guise family, supporters of the Catholic party that was tearing the court apart. Therefore, the painting was likely commissioned by a noble person on the Protestant side.