The painting represents the Greek and Roman goddess Diana ("Artemis" in ancient Greece) with four of her companions. She is wearing a loose yellow dress with a belt made of animal skin and, on her head, a diadem with the symbol of the crescent moon. While she is sitting on a rock, a nymph is washing her left foot. Another, behind Diana, sits with her back partially bare facing the viewer (this is the most skin Vermeer shows on a figure in any of his extant paintings), a third nymph, sitting to Diana's left, holds her own left foot with her right hand. See more
A fourth stands at the back, a little apart from the rest of the group and facing them and the viewer at an angle, eyes downcast, fists in front of her. A dog sits in the lower left corner near Diana, with his back to the viewer, facing the goddess, her servants and, immediately in front of him, a thistle.
The painting with the addition of the blue sky
With the exception of the woman whose face is completely turned away from the viewer, all the other faces in the painting are to one degree or another in shadow, including that of the dog. None of the women are looking at each other, each seemingly absorbed in their own thoughts, which contributes to the solemn mood of the work.
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