Rest of Diana and Her Nymphs

Backer employs oil on canvas to achieve soft modelling of flesh and foliage, using subtle chiaroscuro to give depth to the figures and surrounding trees. The rendering of both male and female nudes, though here all female, reflects the Dutch Golden Age’s interest in classical anatomy and the delicate handling of drapery that characterises his mythological series.

Created during Backer’s mature period, the painting entered the State Hermitage Museum’s holdings at an unspecified later date, where it remains part of the museum’s Dutch Golden Age collection. Its presence in the Hermitage links the work to a broader European acquisition pattern of 17th‑century Dutch art.

In the 1640s Dutch artists often turned to classical subjects to satisfy both private patrons and the market for learned themes. Backer’s choice of Diana—a symbol of chastity and the hunt—allowed him to explore idealized forms within a narrative that could be rendered with the naturalistic detail prized by contemporary collectors.