Diana and Endymion

Sir Frank Short|George Frederic Watts|Robert Dunthorne

December 1, 1891 · Etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink · Drawings and Prints

Despite her sworn chastity, the moon goddess Diana fell in love with the beautiful shepherd Endymion and watched over him while he slept. This mezzotint shows the couple kissing and is based on a painting by Watts of 1869 (private collection). As part of a forward-looking cultural circle centered at Little Holland House in Kensington, the artist sympathized with the Pre-Raphaelites’ reforming agenda but disapproved of their zealous medievalism. This print vivifies its mythic subject by contrasting Diana’s urgent pose with Endymion’s languid form. Short used a rocker to produce the darks and a burnisher for the lights, translating the composition into a rich monochrome. Created two decades after the painting, the masterful print indicates Watts’s long-lived reputation.

Artist

Sir Frank Short|George Frederic Watts|Robert Dunthorne

Date

December 1, 1891

Medium

Etching and mezzotint, printed in brown ink

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959