Antique marble bust of Diana the Huntress after Houdon

Diana ‒ Roman goddess of light and guardian of all forms of life, associated with the Greek Artemis, goddess of the hunt, ruler of forests and wild animals, goddess of the moon. Similarly to her bother Apollo, the attributes of Artemis were a bow and arrows. The goddess is often depicted with the motif of a half-moon on her forehead.

Circa 1900

After ‘Diana’ made by Jean-Antoine Houdon at the end of the 18th c.

Houdon was one of the most outstanding French sculptors at the turn of the 18th and 19th c. He sculpted mythological statues in imitation of the classical style, with well-defined contours and a cold expression. He gained fame and great popularity thanks to his realistic busts and figures portraying famous personages of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire, Molière, Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Napoleon II and Catherine the Great.