Jupiter and Callisto

Artists

Description

Mythological tapestry depicting episodes from the story of Diana and Callisto (from Ovid's Metamorphoses and Fasti), with Diana bathing with her attendants while Zeus (Jupiter), disguised as Diana, lies with Callisto. The figures are small in relation to the landscape, and have rather blunt facial features and inelegant forms. In contrast, the landscape is superbly rendered. The borders are not quite simulated picture frames: the rectilinear moldings contain twisted acanthus leaves plaited with colorful flowers which sometimes cross illusionistically into the visual field.

Dimensions

299.7 x 482.6 cm (118 x 190 in.)

Provenance

The Hearst Foundation, Inc., gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1960