Diana verandert Actaeon in een hert c. 1636 - 1670

Crispijn van de Passe the Younger created "Diana verandert Actaeon in een hert," an engraving, in the 17th century. At this time the Dutch Republic was an emerging economic power, deeply shaped by both the Protestant Reformation and its struggle for independence from Spain. This print depicts the classical myth of Diana and Actaeon. It’s a story of transgression and punishment, and is thick with the politics of gender and power. Here Actaeon, a male hunter, stumbles upon the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing. Diana, as goddess of the hunt, embodies a certain kind of freedom and command, yet here she and her attendants are exposed, vulnerable. Actaeon’s intrusion is met with divine wrath; he is transformed into a stag and hunted down by his own hounds. Van de Passe’s image invites us to consider the consequences of violating the private, intimate spaces of women, and the price of male voyeurism. What does it mean to be seen, or unseen? This artwork is a potent reminder of the costs of such violations, both then and now.