Diana on a Moonbeam and Mars

James Thornhill, English, 1675 - 1734

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not dated

Pen and brown ink heightened with white on blue paper

Sheet: 7 3/4 × 4 5/8 in. (19.7 × 11.7 cm)

Support: 11 9/16 × 8 1/4 in. (29.3 × 20.9 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Jane and Raphael Bernstein

2010.84.126

Geography

Place Made: England, United Kingdom, Europe

Period

1600-1800

Object Name

Drawing

Research Area

Drawing

Not on view

Inscriptions

Lower right: Collector's Mark of Joshura Reynolds (L. 2364)

Label

A partially armored Mars, the Roman god of war, watches as Diana, goddess of the moon, descends on a moonbeam while attended by cherubs. The use of blue paper adds luminosity to the scene and evokes a feeling of mystery while mimicking the lighting of a moonlit encounter. James Thornhill painted murals in England, most notably on the interior of the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. This drawing reflects the style of Thornhill’s sketches for his murals, which were often based on classical myths or religious narratives. Unlike the other blue-paper works in this exhibition, this one uses the natural hue of the blue paper as a highlight and darkens the image with a brown wash. In this way, Thornhill demonstrates the flexibility of blue paper as a tool for artistic innovation.

From the 2025 exhibition Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Making Colors in Europe, 1400–1800, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art

Label written by Isabelle (Izzy) Lust '25, Class of 1954 Intern

Exhibition History

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Making Colors in Europe, 1400–1800, Harrington Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 6 - Fall 2026.

Provenance

Sir Joshua Reynold, P.R.A (L. 2364), date unknown; Christie's, New York, sale 6128, lot 113; sold to Jane and Raphael Bernstein, Ridgewood, New Jersey, June 8, 1999; lent to present collection, 2010; given to present collection, 2015.

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