Studio of Claude, Landscape with the Death of Procris

This painting depicts an episode from Ovid’s Metamorphosis (book 7: 835–862), a Latin poem of well-known stories and characters from Greek mythology. Cephalus is horrified to find his wife, Procris impaled and slumped against a tree, after he has accidentally killed her with his spear. He thought she was a wild animal – the deer fleeing over the horizon was his intended prey.

Earlier in the story, Procris suspects Cephalus of infidelity and follows him to a forest and hides when she hears him approach. She has previously given him the spear and a magic dog that were a gift to her from Diana, goddess of the hunt.

The discoloured and worn paint surface, and extensive repainted areas that include most of the figure of Cephalus and part of Procris, makes it difficult for us to appreciate the painting’s original appearance. It was probably painted by an assistant in Claude’s studio: the lack of perspective and detail in the landscape as well as the clumsy figures – Cephalus stands in a stiff pose and has an oversized hand – suggest the artist was perfecting his skills. This composition is probably a copy of an original work by Claude painted in around 1646, although its location is unknown.

This scene has been painted over an earlier painting of a large female figure which is faintly visible. To the right of Procris and Cephalus there are several diagonal lines which are the outline of her legs. The canvas originally formed part of a larger painting, which was cut down and re-used to paint the scene we see here.