Diana and Her Nymphs in a Clearingca. 1680–85

Godefridus Schalcken(Made 1643 – 1706 The Hague)

oil on canvas
82.6 x 66.4 cm
GS-111
Currently on view at: The National Museum ofChina, Beijing© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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How To Cite
Jansen, Guido. "Diana and Her Nymphs in a Clearing." In The Leiden Collection Catalogue. Edited by
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York, 2017.
https://www.theleidencollection.com/archive/.
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The goddess Diana, recognizable by the crescent moon in her beautifully

Comparative Figurespinned-up hair, is portrayed in wooded surroundings. Dressed in a shortgown, as described by Ovid in the Metamorphoses, she holds a bloody
arrow in her left hand and a bow in her right hand. Diana’s
companions—six nymphs—have sat down to rest after having tended toher hunting horn, quiver, cloak and one of the hounds; several othernymphs can be seen behind the trees in the background. This scene refers
to Ovid’s narrative:
Here the goddess of the wild woods, when weary with the chase, was wont
to bathe her maiden limbs in the crystal water. On this day, having come to
the grotto, she gives to the keeping of her armor-bearer among her
nymphs her hunting spear, her quiver, and her unstrung bow; anothertakes on her arm the robe she has laid by; two unbind her sandals from her
feet. But Theban Crocale, defter than the rest, binds into a knot the locks

Fig 1. Godefridus Schalcken,
Diana and Her Nymphs, ca.
1675–85, oil on copper, 83.5 x 66
cm, Sammlung Graf von
Schönborn, Schloss Weißenstein,
Pommersfelden

which have fallen down her mistress’s neck, her own locks streaming free
the while (book 3, lines 162–70).[1]Godefridus Schalcken certainly knew his Ovid.[2] His father, Cornelius
Schalckius (1610/11–74), a doctor of theology, was rector of the Latin
School in Dordrecht, which explains why he is known by the Latinized formof his name (Cornelis Schalcken). Godefridus attended his father’s school,
and was initially trained—as were his brothers Balthasar (1637–79) andJohannes (1660–1724)—to study theology, for which extensive knowledgeof Latin was essential. Godefridus, however, struck out on his own path. In
the words of Houbraken, his contemporary and fellow townsman, “his loveof art made him bid farewell to the study of languages, even though he wasfar advanced in them.”[3]Diana and Her Nymphs in a Clearing also exists in two other versions,both of which are on panel. The best known version is to be found in thecollection of the Counts of Schönborn at Schloss Weißenstein in
Pommersfelden (fig 1), where it has been documented since 1729.[4] The
second version was last seen at a sale at Sotheby’s in London in 1993.
Beherman prefers this latter version to the one in Pommersfelden,
probably for good reason, because it is now clear that it once belonged to
the renowned eighteenth-century collections of Jan Bisschop (1680–1771)
in Rotterdam and John Hope (1737–84) in Amsterdam.[5]© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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The three versions are nearly identical: apart from the support, they differ
only in size. The version discussed here is on canvas and measures 82.6 x
66.4 cm, whereas the dimensions of the panel in Pommersfelden are 83 x
62 cm, and the work seen at the 1993 sale in London measured 84 x 66.5
cm. Despite the lack of a signature on all these versions, there is no reason
to doubt Schalcken’s authorship. It is striking, however, that the master
repeated this evidently successful composition more than once, so it is notunreasonable to assume that his pupils contributed significantly to one ormore versions.
In general, versions on panel would have been preferred over those on
canvas, because wooden supports were more expensive than linen. Thisrule, however, does not always apply to the work of Schalcken. We know,for example, that in 1690 he painted the portrait of Maria Anna of PfalzNeuburg (1667–1740), the sister of the Elector in Düsseldorf, on canvas,
whereas the version produced by studio assistants is on panel.[6] Because
the three versions of Diana and Her Nymphs in a Clearing are so close inquality, only firsthand comparison of all three works would enable one todetermine which is Schalcken’s autograph version and to what extent the
replicas were produced by studio assistants.
Beherman dated the versions he knew to around 1680–85, which, in myopinion, is too early. The palette—with its pleasant, light colors verging insome cases on pastel shades—and the long, elegant figure of Diana
indicate that all three versions must have originated later, sometime
between about 1685 and 1692, the year Schalcken moved to London. In
that period Schalcken had a number of his best pupils working in his
studio: Arnold Boonen (1669–1729),[7] who was in any case active in thestudio from 1 December 1685 to 3 December 1687; Richard Morris(1670–89),[8] who is documented on 1 December 1685 as Schalcken’s
pupil; and Justus van Bentum (1670–1727), whom we know only fromlistings in old catalogues, where he is mentioned as a pupil of
Schalcken.[9] In view of Boonen’s and Morris’s success in approaching
their teacher’s manner, it certainly should come as no surprise that
Schalcken managed, with the help of these three assistants, to produce
three paintings of equally high quality.
Schalcken’s subject of choice from sacred history was evidently Mary
Magdalene, but the goddess Diana was his favorite theme from ancient© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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history and mythology. His earliest Diana dates from around 1680, when
he portrayed Magdalena de la Court (1661–1712) at approximately 18
years of age as the goddess of the hunt. He depicted her without acrescent moon adorning her hair, but with a bow and arrow hunting in awooded landscape.[10] In the mid-1680s Schalcken used the genre of theportrait historié more frequently, when portraying, for example, several
other young women as Diana and Two Companions, a painting for whicha preparatory drawing survives.[11] This portrayal and the somewhat earlier
Goddess Diana Out Hunting in a Wood , which some are also inclined tosee as a portrait historié,[12] served as the examples for the three
depictions of Diana and Her Nymphs in a Clearing , whose most important
pictorial elements can be traced to those two works.

-Guido Jansen© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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Endnotes
1. Eric Jan Sluijter pointed out this passage in 2009 in an e-mail to Nancy Minty. The English
translation was taken from the Loeb Classical Library edition, translated by Frank Justus
Miller and revised by G. P. Goold.
2. That Schalcken was very familiar with Ovid is apparent from the motto he gave one of his
prints: Man Wearing a Tall Hat Who Makes an Obscene Gesture with His Right Hand
bears the caption “Quam memiuisse juvat,” a quotation from the Metamorphoses, book 9,verse 485; for the print, see George S. Keyes, Hollstein’s Dutch and Flemish Etchings,
Engravings, and Woodcuts ca. 1450–1700 , ed. Karel G. Boon, 58 vols. (Amsterdam,
1949–), 24:152, no. 1 with illustration.
3. “De genegenheid tot de Konst deed hem de oeffening der talen, schoon hy daar in veer
gevordert was, vaar wel zeggen.” Arnold Houbraken, De groote schouburgh der
Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen, 3 vols. (The Hague, 1718–21), 3:175.
Houbraken and Schalcken must have known each other well, for they cosigned a document
drawn up by the notary Jacob van Dyck on 7 October 1689; Gemeentearchief Dordrecht,
ONA

20.517,

unnumberedfolio.

That

Schalcken

received

anexcellent,

well-rounded education also emerges from the appreciative words written about him by George
Vertue (1684–1756): “Besides his Art, his gracefull behaviour & courtesie gaind him respect& esteem among people of Qualitie & distinction” (see George Vertue, “Vertue Note Books
volume II,” The Walpole Society 20 [1931–32]: 139). Proof of Schalcken’s knowledge of
Latin is provided by the dedication written by the German-born artist Johan Frederik
Boddecker (1648–1727) on an engraving he made after Jan de Baen’s portrait of the Hague
physician Cornelis Solingen (1641–87), which he apparently presented to Schalcken. The
handwritten dedication reads: D. Godofredo Scalkio Apellis facile filio . See the print salepresided over by Anton W. M. Mensing at Frederik Muller’s in Amsterdam on 11 December
1906, lot 54 with illustration.
4. Hermann Maué and Sonja Brink, Die Grafen von Schönborn: Kirchenfürsten, Sammler,
Mäzene (Exh. cat. Germanisches National museum, Nuremberg) (Nuremberg, 1989),
437–38, no. 346; Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), no. 30bis.
5. Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), no. 30. This painting, last seen at asale held at Sotheby’s in London on 8 December 1993 (lot 105), was previously describedwith Jan Bisschop’s collection in Gerard Hoet, Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen, metderzelven pryzen, 2 vols. (’s Gravenhage, 1752), 2:530. In the 1771 inventory of Bisschop’s
estate, it is listed as “Diana ter jagt gaande, zijnde een morgenstondt met veel beelden, h.
2:8, b. 2:2 d. [height 2:8, width 2:2 thumbs]” (Diana preparing for the hunt, being a dawn
scene with many figures, approx. 84 x 68 cm; the conversion into centimeters is based on
the Rhine thumb, which was the one commonly used in Rotterdam); Eppe Wiersum, “Het
© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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schilderijen-kabinet van Jan Bisschop te Rotterdam,” Oud Holland 28 (1910): 172.
Bisschop’s collection of paintings was bought en bloc by John Hope in Amsterdam. After his
death, a small part of the collection was sold at auction by his widow in Amsterdam on 10
August 1785. That sale included, in any case, lot 288: “Diana ter Jagt gaande, zynde een
Morgenstond; op paneel, 32 x 26 d. [thumbs]” (Diana preparing for the hunt, being a dawn
scene, on panel, approx. 82 x 67 cm; this conversion is based on the Amsterdam thumb);
Jan

WolterNiemeijer,“Dekunstverzameling

van

John

Hope

(1737–1784),”

Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 32 (1981): 196. Given its large width, it is very likelythat the work from the Bisschop and Hope collections appeared earlier in the sale of thecollection of the burgomaster Mattheus van den Broucke in Dordrecht on 17 June 1717,
where it was described as “Diana met haer Nymphen in een Bosch door Schalken, 2 en een
drie vierde v. h., 2 v. 2 d. br. [height 2¾ feet, width 2 feet 2 thumbs]” (Diana with her nymphs
in a forest by Schalcken, approx. 86 x 68 cm”; these measurements are based on the Rhine
thumb); see Gerard Hoet, Catalogus of naamlyst van schilderyen, met derzelven pryzen, 2
vols. (’s Gravenhage, 1752), 1:211, no. 5. This Van den Broucke Jr. was the son of the
Dordrecht merchant and burgomaster of the same name, whose portrait Schalcken had
previously painted and whose portrait by Samuel van Hoogstraten was engraved by
Schalcken in 1677; Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), no. 80, with
illustrations of both works. For Schalcken’s print, see George S. Keyes, Hollstein’s Dutch
and Flemish Etchings, Engravings, and Woodcuts ca. 1450–1700 , ed. Karel G. Boon, 58
vols. (Amsterdam, 1949–), 24:153, no. 3.
6. Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), 407, nos. 314 and 379; in 2012 thecanvas was with the art dealer Johnny Van Haeften in London; see Guido M. C. Jansen in
Portret in portret in de Nederlandse kunst 1550-2012 , ed. Sabine Craft-Giepmans andAnnette de Vries (Exh. cat. Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum) (Dordrecht, 2012), no. 36,
148–49, 307. An equally large repetition on panel by Schalcken’s studio is now in a private
collection in The Hague; Johannes Erichsen and Katharina Heinemann, eds., Brennpunkt
Europas 1704: Die Schlacht von Höchstädt—The Battle of Blenheim (Ostfildern 2004), 98,
no. 1.03, ill. in color on p. 30.
7. Schalcken was accustomed to taking his pupils along to the notary’s whenever he hadbusiness there. Arnold Boonen, for example, and Schalcken cosigned notarial documents in
Dordrecht from 1 December 1685 to 3 December 1687. This last document, drawn up by thenotary F. Beudt (Gemeentearchief Dordrecht ONA 20.548 unnumbered folio) was signed not
only by “Arnoldus” but also by his brother “Corstiaen Boonen,” who can therefore also be
registered as Schalcken’s pupil and to whom a woman’s portrait of 1694, signed “C.L.
Boonen,” can perhaps be attributed; see RKD databases, Excerpts, HdG-fiche 1059749.
8. On 1 December 1685, Richard Morris signed in full, together with Arnoldus Boonen, adocument drawn up by the notary Arent van Neten, as evidenced by the act of conveyance© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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for a hectare of land inherited by Françoisia van Diemen, Schalcken’s wife; unpublishedarchival notes of Abraham Bredius, kept at the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History),
Schalcken file. Morris’s only known painting, now on the Dutch art market, portrays an“Oude man met een uil op de hand” (Old man with an owl perched on his hand) and is
described as such in the estate sale of Seger Tierens, held in The Hague on 23 July 1743,
lot 166: “Een oud mannetje met een Uil op de Hand, door R. Moris, voornaam Discipel van
G. Schalke, zynde vroeg gestorven, daarom weinig bekend, h. 1 voet en drie vierde d., br.
10 en een vierde d. [height 1 foot and ¾ thumb, width 10¼ thumbs]” (An old man with an owl
perched on his hand, by R. Morris, distinguished pupil of G. Schalcken, having died young
and therefore little known, 33 x 27 cm); Gerard Hoet, Catalogus of naamlyst van
schilderyen, met derzelven pryzen, 2 vols. (’s Gravenhage, 1752), 2:108, no. 166.
9. See the entry on Justus van Bentum by J. Hein in Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, 61 vols.
(Sauer, 1982–), 9:178–80.
10. Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), 165, no. 66.
11. Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), 119, no. 32; for the drawing, see in
Guido M. C. Jansen, “Additions to Godfried Schalcken’s Oeuvre as a Draftsman,” The
Hoogsteder Mercury 13–14 (1992): 77–78, ill. 7.
12. Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris, 1988), 118, no. 31; see also the catalogue ofthe Van Haeften gallery in London, 1997, no. 34, as “A portrait of a lady as the Goddess
Diana out hunting in a wood.” In addition to the above-mentioned representations of Diana,
we also know a Bust of the Goddess Diana ; Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken (Paris,
1988), 314, no. 218, last seen at a sale at Sotheby’s in London, 7 December 1994, lot 256.
An unpublished drawing of the same dimensions as the painting (black chalk, 45 x 32 cm) is
now in the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden (inv. no. FM I-229). Although the drawing bears thesignature Dirck van Deyl delin: 1680(?) , the work should be attributed to Schalcken himself.
The Hunting Diana signed by Schalcken—which was sold on 3 July 1990 in London at
Phillips as lot 106 (oil on panel, 27 x 21 cm) and acquired at that time by the Galleria Luigi
Caretto in Turin—can no longer be assigned to Schalcken, because it is actually the work ofa pupil or follower. See Caretto Gallerie, Mostra maestri fiamminghi ed olandesi del
XVI–XVII secolo (Torino, 1991), no. 28.

ProvenancePossibly Mattheus van den Broucke (1620–85), Dordrecht (his sale, Dordrecht, 17 June
1717, no. 5).
Possibly Jan Bisschop (1680–1771), Rotterdam (his sale, Rotterdam, 5–6 June, 24 June, 15© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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July 1771, p. 12).
Possibly T. C. P. Haag (his sale, The Hague, Bonte, 21 December 1812, no. 4 [Leesberge
for 70 florins].
Baroness LeeAnn de Gidro (d. 1962), Budapest and New York (by 1938); by descent toMichael Gidro, until 2008 (Sotheby’s, New York, 24 January 2008, no. 10 [Johnny van
Haeften, London, 2008]).
From whom acquired by the present owner in 2008.

Exhibition History
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, on loan with the permanent collection, January 2010–June
2012 [lent by the present owner].
Beijing, National Museum of China, “Rembrandt and His Time: Masterpieces from The
Leiden Collection,” 17 June–3 September 2017 [lent by the present owner].

References
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent
Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith . 8 vols.
London, 1907–27. Translated from Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke
der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts . 10 vols. Esslingen andParis, 1907–28, 5:329–330, no. 67.
Plietzsch, Eduard. Holländische und Flemische Maler des XVII Jahrhunderts . Liepzig,
1960, fig. 346.
Beherman, Thierry. Godfried Schalcken. Paris, 1988, 115–16, no. 30.

Versions
Versions and Copies
1. Godefridus Schalcken, Diana and Her Nymphs, ca. 1675–85, oil on copper, 83.5 x 66 cm,
Sammlung Graf von Schönborn, Schloss Weißenstein, Pommersfelden (since 1746), inv. no.
© 2017 The Leiden Collection

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520 (reproduced in Thierry Beherman, Godfried Schalcken [Paris, 1988], 115–17, no.
30bis).

2. Godefridus Schalcken, Diana and Her Nymphs, ca. 1675–85, oil on panel, 84 x 66.5 cm,
whereabouts unknown, formerly private collection, Brussels (reproduced in Thierry
Beherman, Godfried Schalcken [Paris, 1988], 115–17, no. 30).

Versions Notes

Technical Summary
The support, a single piece of fine, twill-weave fabric, has been lined. All four tacking margins
have been removed and paper tape extends into the face of the painting. Linear cracks and oldtack holes along the perimeter indicate the outer edges of the image were once used as tacking
margins and have since been turned out and reincorporated into the painting. There is slightcusping along all but the left edge. There are two paper labels and four numerical inscriptions on
the stretcher members but no wax seals, canvas stamps or stencils on the lining fabric or
stretcher reverse.
A double ground, red over gray, has been applied. The paint has been applied in bothtransparent glazes and opaque layers with smooth transitions with no use of impasto.
The landscape and shadowed figures are painted in transparent washes over the ground, andthe brightly lit figures are painted opaquely. The red ground is used as a mid-tone.
A sketch executed in fluid medium is visible in infrared images captured at 780–1700
nanometers. Compositional alterations apparent in the images include the following: the profile ofDiana’s proper left leg was changed; a bird drawn along the diagonal branch above the nymph
was not executed in paint; the dog’s snout was shifted; the back nymph facing forward andgazing down was painted over an intended tree trunk, which was painted narrower thansketched; and changes were made to the folds of the bright pink drape below the quiver. Almost
none of the composition is visible in the X-radiograph; only the brightest highlights are radioopaque.
The painting is unsigned and undated.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2005 and remains in a good state of preservation.[1]Technical Summary Endnotes© 2017 The Leiden CollectionPowered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

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1. Entry based on 2011 examination report by Kate Smith, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, andexamination of the X-radiograph composite and image of reverse.

© 2017 The Leiden Collection