Diana and Actaeon

A small room (the Camerino) in the castle of Fontanellato contains a fascinating fresco decoration by Parmigianino. It depicts the famous story told by Ovid of the hunter Actaeon, who happened innocently to catch sight of Diana bathing, was transformed into a stag by the enraged goddess, and eventually killed by his own dogs.

The Camerino has a vaulted ceiling with fourteen lunettes. The painter could not or did not wish to include the lower parts of the wall for the narrative painting. Parmigianino grappled with the problem of composing the narrative series in a series of drawings. He decided to transfer the action of the story from the ceiling to the lunettes. Thus it was possible to narrate the story in a logical manner using nearly life-size, half-length figures. A clear visual separation is maintained between the space in which the action takes place and the vaulted ceiling surrounded by a pergola.

The picture shows a view of the entire decoration.