Diana

Diana The marble statue of Diana was made by the French sculptor Prosper d`Epinay (1836 - 1914) in Rome in 1899. He studied sculpture in Paris and Rome and settled in Paris in 1880. He created busts of famous personalities (including the former Empress Eugenie of France), statues and statuettes on genre, mythological, literary and religious themes. The statue represents a naked, slender woman standing straight ahead with her head turned to the right. The weight of her body rests on her left leg, and the right leg is pushed back. The goddess holds two arrows in her left hand. She has a face with classical features. Her hair is pinned up high and tied above her forehead with a string of pearls and a crescent moon as Diana’s attribute. Over her left forearm, a wavy drapery fastened with an ornamental brooch flowing down to a round base is thrown. The theme of the sculpture, the depiction of the figure of Diana and the idealised form refer to Neoclassical art. The statue was purchased by Roman Potocki, the owner of the Łańcut Castle, in Rome in 1899. In Łańcut, it was placed in a gloriette in the garden by the Castle. In the Museum the statue was moved to the Sculpture Gallery. Barbara Trojnar