As I first viewed this image, I was haunted by the dead stag that Diana holds in her arms. It brings to mind the inhumanity in which forest animals are murdered. Diana is holding its mouth manipulating the stag’s jaws as if it were a puppet. Maybe she is making it say, “I would make a nice stew.” All the while Apollo is drawing his bow as if to prove that he can kill the gorilla hiding in the bushes far away….
It appears Diana has more important things on her mind than making the dead stag carcass talk. The look of disappointment on her face is so easy to grasp as the wind hides the brother’s genital region….This could relate to a memory from Dürer’s childhood in which he and his sister, out of curiosity, exposed themselves to each other. The parents saw this happening and severely punished the children. After all this time, it has resurfaced in this print. The longing that Diana has for Apollo is even more pronounced by the grass that she holds tightly in their hands. She wants him to show it to her. She has lost her control. Could this etching be a way for Dürer to cope with his fetish to publicly expose himself? The wind blowing through Apollo’s hair as he draws his bow may hinder the arrow that will strike the unsuspecting gorilla. Unseen barriers keep Dürer from exposing himself. Unseen barriers keep him from reaching his greatest dreams, and in the end to lose them.
The arrow is cropped. Castration is another fear evident in this engraving. It is not just the wind that is keeping him from penetrating the fleshy beast, but the uncertainty of whether or not he will lose his penis. Is there a tip or not? There may still be hope as can be deduced from the full quiver of arrows at his side.
Through close examination and a good working knowledge of the great Sigmund Freud’s research, I have been able to find the main drives behind the work of Albrecht Dürer. It can be deduced that his art wasn’t just for art’s sake, but that it was a coping mechanism through which he could fulfill his wildest repressed fantasies.
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