Diana and Her Nymphs

c. 1653–54

Oil on canvas, 97.8 × 104.6 cm · Mauritshuis, The Hague

One of Vermeer’s earliest paintings, made just after he joined the Delft painters’ guild and years before his quiet interiors. It shows the huntress at rest at night, attended by her nymphs.

Long sold as a work by Nicolaes Maes; in 1885 the “N.M.” monogram proved a forgery over Vermeer’s signature.
Look for the small crescent moon on Diana’s head and a nymph washing her feet.
A later blue sky was covered in 1999–2000 to bring back the night setting.
The canvas was cut down on the right, cropping the kneeling figure at the edge.

Artemis (Roman Diana), Apollo’s twin, is goddess of the hunt, wild places and the moon, and a virgin protector of young women.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain