Diana

Diana is a sculpture in bronze, produced by Santiago Costa i Vaqué (Móra d’Ebre, 1895 - 1984) during the 1920s.

Diana, the Roman goddess of forests and hunting, is represented with a distinct Mediterranean character. Unlike classical sculptures, it is characterised by the simplification of the forms and a move away from ornamentation and streamlining of the figure. The sculptor, interested in capturing the movement and the muscular tension that occurs in the figure, presents Diana nude, with a shawl covering the shoulders and in the absence of the objects that would create tension with her torso: a bow and arrow.

The dominant characteristic of this sculpture by Santiago Costa is the repressed force and movement, orienting the work towards the exaltation of the muscles without losing the harmony and beauty of the forms, while fleeing from academic neoclassicism by giving the nude figure a less artificial and more human and dynamic sense. The artistic solution of Diana’s hair, as if it were a flame, is miracle of serenity that translates itself into tenderness, caressing the form in the firm expressiveness provided by the cold and distant gaze.

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