Diana and Endymion (c. 1695): Artwork and History

Diana and Endymion (c. 1695) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Johann Michael Rottmayr (Austrian, 1654–1730).

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Johann Michael Rottmayr's scenes from Greek and Roman mythology in the collection of the Art Institute may have belonged to a series of seven paintings, each representing a celestial body. Here, the lunar goddess Diana, wearing a crescent moon headpiece, delicately embraces her beloved shepherd Endymion. Her rich blue cloak flies out behind her as if caught in a cosmic wind and her shining eyes fix on the cherub behind him who reminds her to keep quiet. In fact, there is no need to worry, as she has placed Endymion in an eternal sleep so that she can gaze lovingly upon him each night.

Object facts

• Title: Diana and Endymion
• Date: c. 1695
• Artist attribution: Johann Michael Rottmayr (Austrian, 1654–1730)
• Place of origin: Austria
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 81.3 × 125.2 cm (32 × 49 1/2 in.)
• Type: Painting
• Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
• Reference number: 1961.38

Collection credit

Gift of Jacob S. Sherman

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.