Diana en herders 1732

This print, "Diana en herders," of unknown date, was made by an anonymous artist. It brings to life a classical subject with a northern European sensibility. Representing the goddess Diana amidst shepherds, it’s steeped in the pastoral tradition, a popular theme throughout European art history, particularly in countries like the Netherlands, where the urban elite looked back to the countryside. Diana, as the goddess of the hunt, is a figure that speaks to power and control over the natural world, a theme embraced by those who had the power to own land. The idealised vision of shepherds and shepherdesses represents a yearning for a simpler existence, a theme with its own political valence. How was this image functioning within a particular set of social relations? To answer that we might want to explore the cultural institutions of its time, examining printed books, theater, and music, to further illuminate its cultural resonance. In understanding the politics of imagery we begin to see how deeply art is embedded in its own time.