The Death of Actaeon

The hunted figure still has a human body, but his head has become a stag’s. Dogs close around him. At the left, Diana advances with her bow, making the punishment part of a moving, unsettled scene. Titian draws on the story of Actaeon, a hunter who accidentally saw Diana and her companions bathing. The goddess changed him into an animal, and his own hounds tore him apart. His earlier painting Diana and Actaeon shows the encounter that began the disaster. This sequel developed over many years, from about 1559 to 1575, and may not have been completely finished. Although conceived in relation to the pictures for Philip II of Spain, it was never delivered to him. Look at how the figures emerge from the trees and darker ground. Broad, broken strokes keep edges uncertain, especially where bodies and landscape meet. The painting’s surface makes transformation difficult to separate from pursuit. Actaeon has lost the appearance by which his dogs would have known him.