Titian - Diana and Callisto 1556-1559
Diana and Callisto 1556-1559
187x204cm oil/canvas
Location: The National Gallery, London and The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Sold for: USD 71.7 million
Auction house: Private sale
Sale date: 2 March 2012
Seller: Duke of Sutherland
Buyer: National Galleries of Scotland & National Gallery, London
From The National Gallery London / The National Galleries of Scotland:
‘Diana and Callisto’ and Diana and Actaeon were painted for King Philip II of Spain between 1556 and 1559 and belong to a group of large-scale mythologies inspired by the Roman poet Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ – Titian himself referred to them as ‘poesie’, the visual equivalent of poetry. At the same time, Titian began another painting associated with this pair, the Death of Actaeon, also in the National Gallery. For some reason, Titian never sent this painting to the king and it remained in his studio unfinished at his death.