Diana the Huntress by Houdon at the Louvre

To bring this major Neoclassical work to life, Jean-Antoine Houdon needed no fewer than fourteen years. The first study was made in 1776, in plaster. In 1780, a marble version followed, based on that first model, and in 1781 came a lead version. The three bronzes, including the one at the Louvre, date from 1790.

The project began as a commission from the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, and the sculpture was ultimately purchased by Empress Catherine II of Russia. The bronze on show at the Louvre, however, was cast without any prior commission, a testament to the value Houdon placed on the work itself.

The pose of the Roman goddess of the hunt in this bronze draws heavily on the 1776 plaster model. The work sparked much comment when it was first shown, for Houdon chose to depict Diana entirely nude in the act of hunting. Until then, nudity was generally accepted for the goddess only when she was shown emerging from her bath. For Houdon, this nudity reflected the perfect bodies of the gods, free from the modesty and self-consciousness of mortals.

Although the style belongs to Classicism, the Louvre's Diana the Huntress shows a certain Mannerism. The goddess's turning posture, the elongation of the body, and the single point of contact with the base, resting on just one foot, lend the work a movement and energy reminiscent of Giambologna's Flying Mercury from the sixteenth century.

Houdon's sculpture remains faithful to Antiquity, placing it firmly within the Neoclassical current. Its pared-back appearance and the purity of its linear contours give the work a deep sense of serenity and sincerity, as if the goddess might step forward at any moment.

Discover Diana the Huntress in the Louvre's department of sculptures. Standing roughly 6.3 feet tall, it awaits you on the ground floor of the Richelieu Wing.