02 Paintings, Olympian deities, Litvinov Oleg Arkad'yevich's Diana's hunts, Part 1 and 2, with footnotes # 49

Litvinov Oleg Arkad'yevich

Diana's hunts - part one

Oil on canvas

64x108.5 cm/ '25.19x42.71 inches'

Private collection

For sale at C$4,744.82 in Jan 2025

Diana is a goddess in Roman and Hellenistic religion, primarily considered a patroness of the countryside, hunters, crossroads, and the Moon. She is equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, and absorbed much of Artemis' mythology early in Roman history, including a birth on the island of Delos to parents Jupiter and Latona, and a twin brother, Apollo, though she had an independent origin in Italy.

Diana was originally considered to be a goddess of the wilderness and of the hunt, a central sport in both Roman and Greek culture. Early Roman inscriptions to Diana celebrated her primarily as a huntress and patron of hunters. More on Diana 

Litvinov Oleg Arkad'yevich

Diana's hunts" - part two

Oil on canvas

40x60 cm/'15.74x23.62 inches'

Private collection

For sale at $1,150.00 USD in Jan 2025

This oil painting, part two of athe series, showcases the revered goddess Diana in the throes of the hunt, encapsulating both the grace and ferocity of her divine character. 

Alexander Arkadievich Litvinov was born on May 18, 1967 in the city of Lubny. He graduated from the Lubensk secondary school № 1. One of his favorite lessons was drawing. I was even more attracted by studies at an art school Especially in his artistic development, Alexander owes to Vasily Ivanovich Semenyuta, his classical school of teaching, which he enriched in his time through his acquaintance with famous artists Alexei Asaulenko and Petr Likhin. And also an extremely important role in the passion for painting was played by the fact that Alexander's father, Arkady Petrovich Litvinov, was both a talented artist and an excellent teacher. Oleg Arkadyevich Litvinov, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, now lives in Odessa, also chose the artistic path. And after leaving school, Alexander served in the army, where his artistic talent came in handy - in Soviet times, visual agitation was highly valued. He served in Dnepropetrovsk, where two personal exhibitions of his paintings were organized. While still at school, Alexander began to design books, in particular, children's literature. He received his first creative fee in the tenth grade from the publishing house "Raduga" for the design of the book by Anatoly Rybakov "Krosh's Vacation". Later she studied at the Odessa Theater and Art School, specializing in "Decoration of puppet shows and artistic and props art." Studying at the school and passion from childhood with historical and biblical literature greatly influenced the creative manner of the artist. He works in the style of the so-called figurative art, where the main thing is the image of the human body. More on Litvinov Oleg Arkad'yevich

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01 Painting, Olympian deities, by the Old Masters, Giovanni Domenico Cerrini's Diana, with footnotes # 40

Giovanni Domenico Cerrini, (Perugia 1609-1681 Rome)

Detail; Diana

Oil on canvas

88.9 x 73.7cm (35 x 29in)

Private collection

Giovanni Domenico Cerrini, (Perugia 1609-1681 Rome)

Diana

Oil on canvas

88.9 x 73.7cm (35 x 29in)

Private collection

Estimated at £15,000 - £20,000 in December 2019

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt, the moon and nature being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was eventually equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy. Diana was worshipped in ancient Roman religion and is revered in Roman Neopaganism and Stregheria. Diana was known to be the virgin goddess of childbirth and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses — along with Minerva and Vesta — who swore never to marry. More on Diane

Giovanni Domenico Cerrini (1609–1681) was a painter of the Baroque period, born in Perugia and active mainly in Rome and influenced in large part by painters of the Bolognese School.

Cerrini initially apprenticed under Giovanni Antonio Scaramuccia, then in 1638 moved into the Roman studio of Guido Reni. He was strongly influenced also by Lanfranco, Guercino, Domenichino and Andrea Sacchi. He was patronized by the family of Cardinal Bernardino Spada. Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi gave him the commission to decorate the cupola of Santa Maria della Vittoria (1654–1655).

Paintings of his can be found in many of the churches of Rome, where he died, including Santa Maria in Traspontina, San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane, Santa Maria in Vallicella, San Carlo ai Catinari, Santissimo Sudario dei Piemontesi, Sant’Isidoro, as well as in Galleria Colonna, Palazzo Spada, and the Palazzo Corsini art gallery. More on Giovanni Domenico Cerrini

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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01 Painting, Olympian deities, by the Old Masters, with footnotes #39

Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña (French, 1808-1876)

Départ de Diane pour la chasse/ Departure of Diana to the hunt

Oil on canvas

21 3/4 x 13 1/2in (55.3 x 34.4cm)

Private collection

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt, the moon and nature being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was eventually equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy. Diana was worshipped in ancient Roman religion and is revered in Roman Neopaganism and Stregheria. Diana was known to be the virgin goddess of childbirth and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses — along with Minerva and Vesta — who swore never to marry. More on Diane

Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, (born 1808, Bordeaux, France—died November 18, 1876, Menton), French painter and lithographer of the group of landscape painters known as the Barbizon school who is distinguished for his numerous Romantic depictions of the forest of Fontainebleau and his landscape fantasies with mythological figures.

At 15 Diaz began working as a ceramic painter for the Sèvres porcelain factory. He studied for a time with the academic painter Alexandre Cabanel. Strongly influenced by Delacroix and the Romantics and attracted by medieval and Middle Eastern art, he often in his early career painted exotic subjects.

About 1840 Diaz began to paint landscapes in the forest of Fontainebleau near the village of Barbizon. These landscapes, which dominated his work for the rest of his career, characteristically have a pervasive sense of the shadowy seclusion of the forest—e.g., Forest Scene (1867). Dense, vividly coloured foliage is broken by spots of light or patches of sky shining through the branches. During the last 15 years of his life Diaz seldom exhibited publicly. He was helpful and sympathetic to the Impressionists, especially Renoir, whom he met in 1861 painting at Barbizon. More on Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña

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3 Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion, with details

Friedrich Stahl (German, 1863-1940)

Portrait of Diana Silvarum, c. 1920

Oil on panel 

35.5 x 27cm (14 x 10 5/8in)

Private collection

Diana Silvarum. Stahl portrays his sitter as Diana, the hunter Goddess with her decorated quiver subtly slung over her shoulder. The inscription in stylised Latin lettering roughly translated as 'Diana of the forest is devoted and chaste', gives a sense of this not being a straight forward commissioned portrait, but something much more intimate and important. Stahl was pulled in two directions in his career; the pull of society pictures depicting bourgeois subjects with Impressionist influenced brushwork working against his more radical tendency as embodied by this portrait. 

Friedrich Stahl,  (German, 1863-1940), studied at the Munich Academy in 1878. At the age of 21 he moved into his own studio in Berlin where he was active from 1886 until 1898. He co-founded the 'Vereinigung der XI' which had its first exhibition in 1892 at the Galerie Schulte in Berlin. He was later appointed as a member of the Society of German Watercolour Painters and for a period was active in the Munich Secession.

Stahl travelled to England in 1899 in order to further his interest and study of the Pre-Raphaelites that were the foundation of the English brotherhood, the template for much of his own work for the remainder of his career.

The artist subsequently moved to Florence in 1904, where he remained until 1913 studying the works of the early Italian Renaissance. The present lot is a direct result of this influence. 

After a brief time in Munich in 1914 Stahl moved to Feldafing for 12 years where it is likely the present lot was painted. He then returned to Rome in 1925, eventually dying there in 1940 after receiving the Goethe medal under the direction of Martin Bormann. More 

Jan Brueghel the Younger Hendrick van Balen Antwerp 1601 - 1678 Antwerp 1575 - 1632
VENUS, CERES AND BACCHUS
Ooil on oak panel
52.5 by 86.4 cm.; 20 5/8  by 34 in.
Private collection

This Painting This is amongst Jan Brueghel the Younger and Hendrick van Balen’s most successful collaborations. It is an optimistic scene, with Venus, Bacchus and Ceres enjoying the plentiful bounty of a summer’s harvest that continues apace in the fields beyond. The subject provided the perfect marriage of Van Balen’s idealised and highly polished figures with the intricate handling of Brueghel’s brush for the landscape and still life elements. More

Jan Brueghel the Younger; (13 September 1601 – 1 September 1678) was a Flemish Baroque painter, and the son of Jan Brueghel the Elder. He was born and died in the 17th century in Antwerp. He was trained by his father and spent his career producing works in a similar style. Along with his brother Ambrosius, he produced landscapes, allegorical scenes and other works of meticulous detail. Brueghel also copied works by his father and sold them with his father's signature. His work is distinguishable from that of his parent by being less well executed and lighter.

Jan the Younger was traveling in Italy when his father died of cholera, and swiftly returned to take control of the Antwerp studio. After the death of his father he changed his signature from 'Brueghel' to 'Breughel'. He soon established himself and was made dean of the Guild of Saint Luke in 1630. That same year he was commissioned by the French court to paint Adam Cycle. In the following years, he also produced paintings for the Austrian court, and worked independently in Paris, before returning to Antwerp in 1657. More

Hendrick van Balen or Hendrick van Balen I (1574 or 1575 in Antwerp – 17 July 1632 in Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter and stained glass designer. He played an important role in the renewal of Flemish painting in the early 17th century. He became a member of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1592-1593 at the age of 17. In 1608-1609 he was the second dean of the Guild and in 1609-1610 he was the first dean.

From about 1595 to 1602 he studied art while traveling in Italy. On his return to Antwerp, he became a member of the Guild of Romanists. It was a condition of membership that the member had visited Rome. In the year 1613 the Guild chose him as its dean.

Van Balen led for over 30 years a successful workshop and had many pupils. He was the teacher of his son Jan van Balen, Anthony van Dyck and Frans Snyders. He was also a contemporary of many of the other famous Flemish artists, such as the Brueghels, Jan and Pieter. More

Benedetto Gennari - CENTO 1633 - 1715 BOLOGNA

DIANA AND ENDYMION

Oil on canvas

177 by 224.5 cm.;  69 3/4  by 88 1/2  in.

Private collection

In Greek mythology, the moon goddess, Selene, drives her moon chariot across the heavens, although she was also regarded as the personification of the moon itself. Selene is best known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion, the young shepherd who used to sleep on a mountain, and with whom she had fifty daughters. The late 7th-century – early 6th-century BC poet Sappho had apparently already mentioned Selene and Endymion's history. In Roman mythology, Diana has the attributes of Selene and she was mentioned as the goddess who falls in love with Endymion. Both goddesses were regarded as lunar goddesses, except for the fact that in Roman mythology, Diana became a virgin goddess. More

Benedetto Gennari II (October 19, 1633 – December 9, 1715) was an Italian painter active during the Baroque period. He trained at the workshop of the celebrated master, Guercino, hence his style was always very close to that of his teacher. Upon Guercino's death, Gennari inherited his studio which he ran with his brother Cesare.

With a restless spirit, Gennari traveled to Paris in March 1672 to work for the court of King Louis XIV. The French nobility received him with open arms, and the multitude of commissions encouraged him to prolong his stay. In September 1674, he moved to London where he became court painter to King Charles II of England and his successor James II. He painted allegorical and mythological scenes, and above all portraits. Catherine of Braganza and Mary of Modena, Catholic wives of Protestant kings, commissioned artworks for their private worship.

Gennari had to leave England when King James was dethroned; he followed James's court to Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1689. By 1692, he was back in Bologna.

Gennari was an outstanding portraitist who eventually developed a style far removed from the principles taught in the school of Guercino. In the mature phase of his style, he came to acquire characteristics of the art of northern Europe, which he learned through his travels. In 1709, he was one of the founding members of the Accademia Clementina. More

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion, Joseph Heintz the Elder: DIANA AND CALLISTO

Joseph Heintz the Elder

BASEL 1564 - 1609 PRAGUE

DIANA AND CALLISTO

indistinctly signed in monogram on the base of Diana's throne lower right

oil on copper

47 by 33 cm.; 18 1/2  by 13 in.

DIANA AND CALLISTO. Callisto was the favourite of Diana, virgin goddess of the hunt. Her beauty aroused the attention of Jupiter, king of the gods, who seduced her by disguising himself as Diana. Nine months later Callisto’s pregnancy was discovered when she was forced by her suspicious companions to strip and bathe after hunting. The painting shows the moment of her humiliating exposure and banishment from Diana’s chaste entourage. 

Joseph Heintz (or Heinz) the Elder (11 June 1564 – October 1609) was a Swiss painter, draftsman and architect. He was born in Basle & appears to have been a pupil of Hans Bock, and to have educated himself by diligent practice in copying the works of Hans Holbein the younger. Between 1585 and 1587 he lived in Rome, registering himself a pupil; to Hans von Aachen. He next settled in Bohemia in 1591, and was at once appointed court painter to Rudolf II, but he remained in Prague for two years only, as in 1593 he was commissioned to make some copies from the antique for the emperor, and for that purpose went to Rome, where he spent some years. In 1604 we hear of him in Augsburg, and from the time we know little of his history, until his decease is recorded in a village near Prague. 

In this painting,  painted around the turn of the seventeenth century, is both a summation of Heintz’ art and a paradigm of the sensuousness and imaginative fantasy of Mannerism. Set in a watery cave, but strongly lit, it depicts the moment described by Ovid when the pregnancy of the nymph Callisto resulting from her liaison with Jupiter is uncovered by Diana and her other nymphs, one of whom raises the red cloth covering Callisto to reveal her gravid torso, while Diana sits enthroned in judgement, the extended fingers of her right hand raised in admonition.1 The pallid flesh of the nymphs, their muscled thighs and etiolated arms are painted with an extreme degree of tautness as if they were engaged in a balletic performance for the viewer.