Diana and Callisto

Diana and Callisto is part of a series of seven famous canvasses, the "poesies", depicting mythological scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses painted for Philip II of Spain after Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor had declined Titian's offer to paint them for him. The work remained in the Spanish royal collection until 1704 when King Philip V gave it to the French ambassador. It was soon acquired by Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, nephew of Louis XIV, and Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV, for his collection, one of the finest ever assembled. After the French Revolution, the Orleans collection was sold to a Brussels banker by Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans in 1791, two years before he was guillotined. It was sent to London for sale in 1793 and purchased by a syndicate of three aristocrats, the leader of which, the canal and coal-magnate Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, bought a large number of paintings for himself, including Diana and Callisto and Diana and Actaeon (both from the "poesie" series), eight paintings by Poussin, three Raphaels and Rembrandt's "Self-Portrait, aged 51".