The Death of Chione
by POUSSIN, Nicolas, Pencil, pen, brown ink and wash on paper, 184 x 313 mm
In his Metamorphoses, Ovid relates how Diana shot an arrow through the sneering Chione’s slanderous tongue. Poussin’s drawing is impressive both for the directness with which it illustrates the outcome of this brutal act and the confidence with which it conveys the grief and despair of Chione’s bereaved family at the same time as the triumph of Diana.