Diana Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguière

Alexandre Falguière was one of the most celebrated French sculptors in the second half of the nineteenth century. The life-size statue of Diana, the roman goddess of the hunt, is one of his best-known works. The statue, presented at the Paris Salon in 1882, was both a success and a scandal at the same time, as many critics complained that the artist did not portray the goddess in an idealised way. Instead of following classical tradition, Falguière opted for a realistic depiction of the female body, accentuating Diana’s human character by emphasising her natural proportions, her full figure, which was considered vulgar by many. Nevertheless, the artist produced several variations on the same theme, including in one of his (relatively rare) paintings, and his masterpiece also became extremely popular as a bust. Only the crescent adorning the forehead tells us that we are looking at Diana, but as the body is not present here to distract us from the goddess’s non-idealised facial features, the bust’s defiant poise and striking profile shines through to full effect.

Anna Zsófia Kovács