the hunter & the hunted (after The Death of Actaeon)

101x122cm / 40×48” acrylic on canvas, 2026

The Death of Actaeon, red-figure skyphos, c. 400-350 BC

In the myth of Actaeon, Actaeon is out hunting successfully, albeit excessively, through to midday. He happens upon Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, bathing naked in the woods. Angered that Actaeon has seen her nakedness, Artemis transforms his physical body into a stag. Actaeon is then chased by his own hunting dogs, & the dogs, unable to recognize their master, kill him.

However, it isn’t just for mere chance that Actaeon is punished so severely for. Although it was mischance that Actaeon walked in on the bathing Artemis, his actual trespass was his excessive slaughter during the hunt, making him unworthy of Artemis’ presence, and resulting in the ironic punishment of becoming prey himself.

pmd 2026