Where can I see Diana Leaving the Bath?

The painting hangs at the Louvre Museum in Paris, acquired in 1852. It's displayed in Room 919 among other Rococo major works.

Who painted Diana Leaving the Bath?

François Boucher created this work in 1742. He was a leading Rococo painter and favorite of Madame de Pompadour.

What size is the painting?

It measures 57 x 73 cm (22 x 29 inches), relatively small since it was made for private collectors' cabinets rather than public display.

Why does Diana appear so different from mythology?

Boucher transformed the fierce huntress into an innocent beauty, typical of Rococo taste. Her chastity becomes a playful foil for the painting's sensuality.

Where Is Diana Leaving the Bath? See It at Louvre, Paris

François Boucher painted this sensuous scene in 1742 for collectors' private cabinets. The goddess Diana sits on silk fabric beside a pool, a nymph attending her. Rather than the strong, bow-wielding huntress of mythology, Boucher presents her as charmingly innocent, unaware of being watched. Her hunting spoils lie nearby: a hare and two doves, the latter traditionally symbols of Venus.

The painting captures everything about Rococo style: glossy surfaces, a palette favoring soft blues and pinks, playful grace, and barely concealed eroticism. Diana was a symbol of chastity, and Boucher plays up her innocence as a foil against impropriety. Critics like Diderot dismissed him, writing "That man is capable of everything except the truth."

The Louvre acquired the work in 1852. Boucher had a wide-ranging clientele, from bourgeois collectors to Madame de Pompadour. He became first painter to King Louis XV and director of the Académie, dying at 67 in his studio in the Louvre itself.