Description
Diana and her Nymphs is one of the earliest surviving works of Johannes Vermeer, painted in the early to mid-1650s. The goddess Diana, in a yellow dress with a small crescent moon on her head, sits on a rock while a kneeling nymph washes her foot in a brass basin. The original, oil on canvas, is 97.8 cm high and 104.6 cm wide and belongs to the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Our painter paints it for you in oil on canvas, in one of 6 landscape sizes from 110 x 107 to 250 x 225 cm or made to measure, and sends you a photograph of the finished work before dispatch.
| Title: | Diana and her Nymphs |
| Other titles: | Diana en haar nimfen · Diana and Her Companions |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | early to mid-1650s |
| Original size: | 97.8 cm x 104.6 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | Mauritshuis, The Hague (acc. no. 406) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 6 sizes or made to measure |
Diana and her Nymphs – Johannes Vermeer
What does Diana and her Nymphs show?
On a rock at the centre sits Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting and the moon. She wears a loose yellow dress tied with an animal-skin sash, and a diadem bearing the sign of the crescent moon.
In front of her a companion in a brownish bodice kneels to wash her left foot, beside a white cloth. A second nymph sits behind the goddess, seen from behind. A third holds her own foot, and a fourth stands a little apart at the back, eyes lowered.
A dog sits in the lower left corner facing its mistress, with a thistle just in front of it; Vermeer signed the canvas on the rock between the two.
Light falls from above and from the left, yet every face lies partly in shadow. None of the women looks at another, so the mood is hushed and solemn, in warm golden yellow, red and deep browns.
What does the foot washing mean?
Painters of the time liked to show Diana at the dramatic points of her story: when the hunter Actaeon sees her bathing, or when she discovers that the nymph Callisto is pregnant. Vermeer chooses neither.
Instead he shows a quiet moment of care. Arthur K. Wheelock wrote that the scene has no obvious literary source and that its solemnity belongs more to Christian than to mythological tradition.
In Christianity, washing feet is a sign of humility and purification; at the Last Supper Christ washed the feet of his disciples. According to Wheelock, the white cloth and the brass basin also point to chastity, of which the goddess was a symbol.
The subject of the later interiors is already here: a woman in a quiet, private moment.
Why is Diana and her Nymphs so unusual?
Before he turned to interiors lit by a window on the left, Vermeer painted large canvases with scenes from mythology and the Bible. Some specialists even consider this one his earliest surviving painting.
At its 1876 auction it was sold as the work of Nicolaes Maes, a pupil of Rembrandt, because Vermeer’s signature had been altered.
Around 1901 Abraham Bredius and Willem Martin of the Mauritshuis settled the doubts: its colours and technique matched the signed Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, and its colours also matched another early work, The Procuress.
The debt to Rembrandt shows in the sturdy goddess, the thick paint along the folds of her dress and the shadowed faces. Wheelock thinks Vermeer very likely saw Rembrandt’s Bathsheba of 1654 with his own eyes.
For more on how the Diana was attributed and restored, see the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original of Diana and her Nymphs?
The original belongs to the Mauritshuis in The Hague, inventory number 406. The canvas is 97.8 cm high and 104.6 cm wide, so almost square.
From 1866 to 1875 it belonged to Neville Davison Goldsmid of The Hague, then to his widow, Eliza Garey; at the Goldsmid sale on 4 May 1876 Victor de Stuers bought it for the Mauritshuis.
Restoration in 1999 and 2000 showed that a patch of blue sky at the top right had been added in the 19th century, so it was covered again with foliage. The canvas was also cut down at some point, mostly on the right, where about 15 cm is missing, and repeated cleaning has left it in relatively poor condition.
Diana and her Nymphs or another Vermeer?
Diana and her Nymphs is a canvas painting for anyone who loves stories, group scenes and the warm colours of the old masters.
If you only know the famous Vermeer paintings of women at windows, this group out in the open will surprise you. For a quiet interior there is A Maid Asleep, and the painter’s best-known face is in Girl with a Pearl Earring.
The other works by the Delft master that we paint to order are collected on the Johannes Vermeer page.
How does our painter paint your Diana and her Nymphs?
Once your order is confirmed, the painter sketches the composition on the canvas: the rock, five figures, the dog and the dark background. Then the colour is built up layer by layer.
The yellow dress gets thick paint that follows the folds, as in the original, while the shadowed faces are brought out slowly so that their expression stays calm.
The result is a Vermeer reproduction with brushwork you can feel, which no print achieves. Like any oil painting reproduction, your Diana shifts with the light: the browns look cooler by day, and under an evening lamp the yellow dress begins to glow.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 110 x 107 or 130 x 117 cm above a sofa, a sideboard or a dining table, 150 x 134 or 165 x 155 cm for a large living-room wall, and 190 x 175 or 250 x 225 cm for an entrance hall, a stairwell or a very tall room.
Diana and her Nymphs is a demanding subject with five figures, a dog and plenty of detail, so we paint it only in 6 larger landscape sizes (width x height): 110 x 107, 130 x 117, 150 x 134, 165 x 155, 190 x 175 and 250 x 225 cm. We do not offer smaller sizes, because the faces and hands would get lost in them.
The nearest to the original is 110 x 107 cm, which is 5.4 cm wider and 9.2 cm taller.
As a painting for the living room above a long sofa, 150 x 134 cm is a good choice; hang it with Diana’s face at roughly eye level.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is about 15 : 14 in proportion, so we can carry it over to an unlisted size without the dog or the standing nymph slipping off the edge. Send us the width and height through the made-to-measure form, and we will reply with a price and a time frame.
Your Diana can come rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames it, as it does every canvas we send. You pick the frame in our 3D application, which is for frame choice only; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will Diana and her Nymphs arrive?
Diana and her Nymphs is painted and ready to travel within 15 to 45 working days of your confirmed order. Before shipping we send you a photograph of it, and if you want anything changed, we see to it.
To any address in Slovenia or elsewhere in the EU the Diana travels without customs duties, and our returns policy covers the order.
It makes a fine wedding or anniversary gift: Liedtke even speculates that Vermeer painted it in tribute to Catharina Bolnes, whom he married in 1653. To let the couple pick the size themselves, give them a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original today?
At the Mauritshuis in The Hague, which bought it at auction in 1876.
Who are the women around Diana?
Her companions, the nymphs: one washes her foot, and the other three sit or stand beside her.
Is it a print?
No. Every Diana we make is a hand-painted copy, done with brush and oil colours on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 97.8 cm high and 104.6 cm wide; our nearest size, 110 x 107 cm, is slightly larger.
Why are there no smaller sizes?
With five figures and a dog, the faces would be lost at a small size.
Can I order it in my own size?
Yes, we also paint it in the size you ask for and send you the price and timing.
Would it suit a bedroom?
It works better in a living room, dining room or hallway, where it can be seen from a distance.
How long does it take to make?
From 15 to 45 working days; before dispatch we send you a photograph of your Diana.
- Subject: the goddess Diana in a yellow dress with a crescent moon sits on a rock while a nymph washes her foot, with three companions and a dog.
- Original: early to mid-1650s, oil on canvas, 97.8 x 104.6 cm, Mauritshuis, The Hague.
- Ours: oil on canvas, painted by hand for you, in 6 landscape sizes from 110 x 107 to 250 x 225 cm or a size you choose.
- Worth knowing: sold in 1876 as a work by Nicolaes Maes, it was firmly given to Vermeer only around 1901.
