Diana and Actaeon (after Titian)
attributed to Miguel de la Cruz (fl. c.1630 - 1660)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1625 - 1645
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
2064 x 1772 mm (81 ¼ x 69 ¾ in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1139669
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Diana and Actaeon (after Titian), attributed to Miguel de la Cruz (active c.1630-1660), 1625/45. Diana and her companions bathe at a well head in a glade with ruins. Whilst out hunting, Actaeon accidentally happens upon the secret bathing place of Diana, chaste goddess of the moon and of the hunt, whose former prey hang above her head. He strides in from the left, his left arm outstretched. The outraged goddess appears to attempt to cover herself, unsuccessfully. She immediately avenges herself by transforming Actaeon into a stag to be devoured by his own hounds. Actaeon's fate is foretold by the stag's skull on the plinth. The conclusion of the story is shown in Titian's The Death of Actaeon in the National Gallery, London. A copy of similar quality is at Knole (NT) and the original, formerly in the collection of Philip IV of Spain and given by him to Charles I, is now owned jointly by the National Gallery, London and the National Galleries of Scotland (ex- Duke of Sutherland collection). The Ham painting was probably a gift from Charles I to William Murray, 1st Earl of Dysart.
Provenance
Made for William Murray on behest of Charles I, in 1677 inventory and in 1683 inventory (99) as attributed to Cruz (Michael Cross); thence by descent until acquired in 1948 by HM Government when Sir Lyonel, 4th Bt (1854 – 1952) and Sir Cecil Tollemache, 5th Bt (1886 – 1969) presented Ham House to the National Trust, and entrusted to the care of the Victoria & Albert Museum, until 1990, when returned to the care of the National Trust, and to which ownership was transferred in 2002
Credit line
Ham House, The Dysart Collection (purchased by HM Government in 1948 and transferred to the National Trust in 2002)
Makers and roles
attributed to Miguel de la Cruz (fl. c.1630 - 1660), artist after Titian (Pieve di Cadore 1488/90 - Venice 1576), artist
References
Simon 2014, Jacob Simon (ed. Sarah Okpokam), Picture Frames at Ham House, National Trust, 2014, p. 7
