MASTER of the Fontainebleau School
(active around 1550)

The Diana of Anet

1550-54
Marble, 211 x 258 x 135 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

The Diana of Anet was for long regarded as one of Goujon's most famous works. However, it was shown conclusively that the attribution to Goujon was of recent origin and without stylistic support. The sculpture is by a sculptor of high quality and individual style, who has the power to conceive a statue completely in the round. It is less classical than Goujon's mature style, and springs more directly from the art of Primaticcio, though perhaps with some influence from Cellini's salt-cellar for Francis I. It is, however, essentially a product of the late school of Fontainebleau. The head, of exquisite if over-refined accomplishment, is characterized by the elaborate treatment of the hair, the small and delicate features, and the mannered drawing of the eyes.