Diana and Callisto

The goddess Diana sits on the left, pointing accusingly as her nymphs forcibly strip the clothes from Callisto to reveal her pregnancy. The scene is filled with numerous nude female figures in dynamic, twisting poses, surrounded by hunting dogs and archery equipment. The landscape features dense foliage and a distant mountain, rendered with the fine, swelling lines characteristic of late 16th-century engraving.

This work by Jan Saenredam, based on a design by Hendrick Goltzius, is a prime example of Haarlem Mannerism, which blended classical mythology with a sophisticated study of the human form. In the Western esoteric tradition, the Ovidian myths were frequently interpreted as moral and philosophical allegories, here representing the tension between the celestial purity of Diana and the earthly generation of Callisto.