Arcas Preparing to Kill His Mother - etching - 17.5 x 25.5 cm - Washington DC, NGA

A muscular hunter stands in a rugged landscape, drawing a bow toward a bear crouching among the rocks. In the upper right corner, a divine whirlwind lifts a smaller human figure and a bear into the clouds, representing their transformation into the stars. The scene utilizes the dynamic, twisting poses and dramatic landscape characteristic of the Haarlem Mannerist style.

This print illustrates the concept of catasterism—the transformation of a being into a celestial body—which served as a foundational myth for Renaissance astrology and natural philosophy. It reflects the Neoplatonic interest in the 'Metamorphoses' of Ovid as an allegorical framework for understanding the relationship between the corruptible earthly realm and the eternal order of the cosmos.