“DIANA IV, VIRGIN GODDESS “
SIZE/MATERIALS
Table Top / Medium Size
19th Century Rich Medium and Deep Brown patination.
Dark brown in the shadows with tones of mid-brown on mid-relief and lighter tones on the highlights.
Centimeters: 77 high x 36 wide x44 deep (Base 25x 30 cm)
Inches: 30 high x 14 wide x 17 deep (Base 10 x 12 inches)
Mythology
DIANA was first and foremost the Virgin Goddess. At the age of three she begged her father Zeus (Ruler of all gods) to grant her eternal virginity. Completely captivated by the charms of his favorite daughter, Zeus granted her wish.
The Greek / Roman gods and goddesses were all immortal with supreme powers, but the Olympian world was very chauvinistic, and the gods all preyed upon the goddesses, seducing and even raping them, thus fathering their children.
Not DIANA. She would never be the prey of any man. She was the original “feminist”. Also known as “Goddess of the Hunt”, and the “Moon Goddess”, DIANA was a supreme athlete who competed with the gods, and won.
She was the greatest archer of all the gods and goddesses, famous for her hunting skills, the sharp focus of her attention, her unerring aim, her fearlessness and her courage. Wild, fiercely independent, living with the animals in the forest, totally self-sufficient, needing no man, living life on her own terms, DIANA was a force to be reckoned with.
When Actaeon, the Theban prince and mighty hunter, accidentally came upon DIANA and her nymphs bathing, thus seeing the virgin goddess naked, he paid for his mistake with his life. DIANA turned him into a stag, a form in which he would never be able to tell anyone he had seen her naked. Actaeon’s trained hunting dogs did not recognize their master in his new form so they hunted him down and killed him.
VIEWS/DETAILS
Sculptor’s Interpretation
“C. G. Jung believed that the Greeks, in their wisdom, created their gods and goddesses as archetypes for people, and if we better understand our archetypes, then we better understand ourselves. Jung felt that learning about the Greek gods and goddesses can help men and women understand what is acting deep within their own psyches.
I have had the privilege of knowing many wonderful women in whom I recognize the DIANA archetype. Each has the innate ability to concentrate intensely on whatever is important to her and to be undistracted from her course until she achieves her goal. One of these amazing DIANAs is my Granddaughter, Rain. Another is Diana Marshall, a dynamic red-head Texas trial Lawyer who loves to compete with men … and win.
My DIANA is not the physical photograph of the DIANAs I know but, more importantly, the essence of the spirit of DIANA.”
Description of Sculpture
When Richard created the sculpture “DIANA PUNISHES ACTAEON”, showing the beginning of Actaeon’s metamorphosis into a stag, the interplay between DIANA and ACTAEON is powerful, sensual, realistic and physical, highly charged with emotion and movement. The two figures of DIANA and ACTAEON are connected, but Richard also designed them so that each could be offered to collectors as individual sculptures. This is the DIANA who punished ACTAEON, but with certain changes.
This is Richard’s 4th DIANA. All of Richard’s DIANAs are beautiful athletes, displaying the lines of feminine physical excellence, capable of pulling the strongest longbow to full capacity,
But DIANA 4 is taller and slimmer, with the emphasis on feminine grace rather than muscular power. She stands tall, regal, with the sexual allure of innocence with large eyes and full sensual Angelina Jolie lips.
