Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrick van Balen
Brussels, 1568-Antwerp, 1625, and Antwerp, ca. 1575-1632
Diana and Callisto, ca. 1605
Oil on copper.
Based upon Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this painting depicts Diana discovering that the nymph Callisto has been made pregnant by Jupiter. In the 17th Century, Flemish painters often collaborated with one another, combining their artistic specialties to produce works of the highest caliber. The natural combination of Brueghel’s skills as a landscapist with van Balen’s sensitive rendering of the female nude resulted in this work of surpassing technical achievement and visual appeal.