Actaeon Turned Into A Stag, And Devoured By His Dogs

48.5 x 32 cm (19.1 x 12.6 inches).
Actaeon Turned Into A Stag, And Devoured By His Dogs
This spectacular baroque engraving is from Bernard Picart's Le Temple Des Muses.
The engraving was made in 1733, is from the first edition and is an original antique. It has captions in French, English, German, and Dutch.
It is in very good condition for its age.
In Greek myth, Artemis (Diana) is the goddess of hunting and is not to be crossed. In the myth of Actaeon, the young hunter sees her bathing naked and is transformed into a deer by the angered goddess. His hunting dogs devour him. In this superb engraving by Bernard Picart, Diana is calmly bathing with her followers while poor Actaeon is devoured by his dogs. The ornate border features mermaids, dolphins and dragons.