Artwork
Diana Recumbent
Diana Recumbent is an ink print by the Baroque artist Laurent de La Hyre. It dates from 1624 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Produced around 1624, the print presents a solitary female figure in a reclining pose, set against a loosely suggested woodland backdrop.
Laurent de La Hyre’s *Diana Recumbent* is an early‑17th‑century etching executed on laid paper. Produced around 1624, the print presents a solitary female figure in a reclining pose, set against a loosely suggested woodland backdrop. The work reflects the neoclassical Atticist tendencies that characterized La Hyre’s output during the French Baroque period, emphasizing compositional clarity and measured restraint.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is identified as the goddess Diana, the Roman deity of the hunt and wilderness. She is shown nude, lying on her back with her head raised, her limbs extended in a relaxed manner. The pose evokes classical ideals of serene beauty and natural harmony, aligning the mythological subject with the period’s fascination with antiquity and the idealized human form.
Technique & Style
La Hyre employed the etching technique to achieve fine, linear detail, rendering the figure’s anatomy with careful attention to light and shadow. The skin tones emerge through delicate cross‑hatching, while the surrounding trees and foliage are suggested with broader, less defined strokes, creating a contrast between the sharply modeled body and the atmospheric background typical of Baroque realism.
History & Provenance
Born in Paris in 1606, Laurent de La Hyre was a prominent advocate of the Atticist style within French Baroque painting. *Diana Recumbent* dates from the early phase of his career, when he was establishing his reputation for disciplined composition. The print has remained in the public domain, appearing in several catalogues of 17th‑century French prints and is held in various museum collections.
Artist & collection
Artist
Laurent de La Hyre (French pronunciation: ; 27 February 1606 – 28 December 1656) was a French Baroque painter, born in Paris. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism.
