Diana and Endymion 1768

Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée captured this tender scene of 'Diana and Endymion' in paint, likely in the late 18th century, a period of burgeoning interest in classical themes. Note the prominent crescent moon, a timeless attribute of Diana, goddess of the hunt and the moon. It is echoed in the soft, dreamy gaze she directs towards the sleeping shepherd, Endymion. This motif of the moon goddess, infatuated with a mortal, is not unique to this era; we find echoes of it in earlier Roman frescoes and even ancient Greek pottery. It speaks to the enduring human fascination with the divine intersecting with mortal affairs. This act of watching over the beloved, resonates deeply. It echoes the Madonna's protective gaze over the Christ Child, a recurring theme throughout the Renaissance. The persistence of these visual symbols reveals a psychological need to connect with narratives of love and protection that transcend time. It seems that humanity continuously returns to these archetypes, reinventing and reinterpreting them through the lens of each new age.