(Florence ca. 1532–1571)
Diana and her Nymphs surprised by Actaeon
oil on panel, 25.8 x 60.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

Maso da San Friano was one of the most elegant Florentine painters of the late 16th century. During his short career the artist created paintings for both public and private patrons; he was also commissioned by Francesco I de’ Medici with the decoration of his studiolo at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

In terms of both the format and the crowded, narrative conception, the present painting is close to other panels of similar size by Maso da San Friano, four of which are now preserved in private collections whilst one, showing the three Marys at Christ’s tomb, is in the Casa Vasari, Arezzo (see A. Nesi, “Per Maso da San Friano”, in: Arte cristiana 95 (2007), pp. 21–30, figs. 7a–d; P. Cannon-Brookes, “A Gradino by Maso da San Friano?”, in: The Burlington Magazine 118/883 (1976), pp. 686–692, fig. 29). These paintings show religious subjects and originally probably functioned as panels for a predella. The present composition may similarly have formed part of a larger ensemble, probably a mythological decoration programme for a studiolo.

In his Metamorphoses (III book, V: 131–252), Ovid tells the story of the hunter Actaeon, who surprised Diana at her bath. As a punishment, Diana turned him into a stag, so that Actaeon was mauled by his own hounds. The present painting shows the moment described by Ovid when Actaeon, wearing antlers on his head as an allusion to his subsequent transformation, is splattered with water by the furious Diana. This painting is registered at the Fondazione Zeri (no. 35486).