Apollo and Diana

'This painting is the outstanding work by Cranach (c.1472-1553) in the Royal Collection. It shows the sun god Apollo, admired for his moral standing and physical beauty, and his twin sister Diana or Artemis, goddess of the moon, who was associated with chastity, archery and hunting. The emphasis on humanity closely related to the primeval forest and hunting recalls Cranach's earlier work and the so-called Danube School. Apollo and Diana is given a particular intensity by the way in which the figures are seen in relief but also related to the forest behind them. Diana's precisely rendered hair curls around the stag's antlers, which in turn are deliberately confused with the branches of the trees behind. Cranach's characteristically incisive clarity and attention to minute detail is seen here - for example, in the reflected light in the stag's eye or the small swans swimming on the lake.'

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