OIL PAINTING: Diana, 1637
Diana is in Vouet's late, more classical style. The idealised expression of the face with its widely spaced features, the languid gesture, and the slow, ponderous rhythms combined with the pale flesh tones and light colours of the drapery are typical of the artist's decorative work. The composition was originally oval, as seen in an engraving of 1638 by Vouet's son-in-law, Michel Dorigny. With this knowledge the internal rhythms of the painting become more comprehensible, with the curve created by the reclining figure of the goddess of hunting continued in the muzzles of the two dogs pointing in opposite directions.