Man, god, or bear : the domestication of the nymph as visualized by François Boucher in dialogue with French enlightenment views on sexual violence

Francois Boucher’s legacy has been heavily defined by his pastoral works and relationship with Madame de Pompadour. Boucher’s oeuvre was not a stranger to mythology paintings, but one figure appeared to be a favorite. Between the years of 1744 and 1769 Boucher created four variations of the myth of Callisto and Jupiter. These paintings focused on a perceived sapphic relationship between Callisto and Diana, but carry much heavier themes when related back to their Ovidian origin. The idea that these paintings were light-hearted erotica has been perpetuated due to a continuous disconnect between the object and the social history. Instead what can be drawn is a parallel between the visualization of mythological women in connection with politics on sexual assault and violence. Boucher’s use of Ovid’s mythology is inherently tied with the bodily anxieties written within his Metamorphoses. This project focuses on drawing out the relevance of Callisto’s image in normalizing sexual violence in congruence with the Enlightenment’s logic on womanhood. This paper examines the writings of Rousseau’s natural woman, as well as Diderot’s moral art criticism and puts it in comparison with how Boucher depicts Ovid’s women. The evolution of Callisto’s character, between her origins in Ovid and her visual representations by Boucher, depict a recognizable change in dynamics. In comparing both painting and literature the concept of the idealized woman is formed, and in turn as is a paradox.