In the classical myth Ovid recounts at length in his etamorphoses, Actaeon is a young prince who, while hunting, accidently encounters the chaste goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing. Diana punishes Actaeon by turning him into a stag. He is then pursued by his own hounds and is torn to pieces. In Seligmann's interpretation the unfortunate hunter has already grown antlers and is about to be devoured by the animated landscape forms which surround him. While Seligmann is reported to have eschewed analysis of his paintings, it is clear that many of his subjects, even those drawn from ancient sources, constitute a direct commentary on the tragic events occuring during the 1940s.