The Bath of Diana c. 1730

Johann Georg Platzer created this painting of ‘The Bath of Diana’ in Austria, sometime in the first half of the 18th century. He made it using oil paint on copper. Here, Platzer represents the Roman goddess Diana, in a scene of intimate, leisurely bathing with her nymphs. In a painting like this, the display of nudity and the emphasis on classical themes were ways for aristocratic patrons to broadcast their erudition and refined tastes. It was also a way for them to legitimize their social position by associating themselves with the traditions of classical antiquity. Platzer’s family was also a key institution of art. He came from a family of artists who specialized in similar cabinet paintings with crowded scenes of mythological subjects. We can explore the social role of this type of painting by looking at the history of collecting and display in this period. Art history provides us with the critical tools to unpack this painting’s cultural codes, to ask questions about the construction of class, and to evaluate the politics of the image.