Bacchanal
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 10 1/16 × 7 11/16 in. (25.5 × 19.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.851
About this artwork
This dynamic etching depicts a bacchanal, the classical revelry associated with Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, fertility, and ritual madness. Created by Michel Dorigny between 1636 and 1665 and published by the prominent Parisian print publisher Pierre Mariette, the work exemplifies the seventeenth-century French fascination with classical mythology and its visual interpretation. Dorigny, born in Saint-Quentin in 1616 or 1617, was a significant figure in French Baroque printmaking, and his coll...
Art Historical Context
Step into the exuberant world of *Bacchanal*, a lively etching by French Baroque artist Michel Dorigny (1616/17–1665), published by the esteemed Parisian printmaker Pierre Mariette (1596–1657). Created between 1636 and 1665, this trimmed sheet measures 10 1/16 × 7 11/16 inches and captures the chaotic revelry of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, fertility, and ecstatic madness. Dancing figures swirl in a frenzy of celebration, abundance, and ritual joy, embodying the classical myths that captivated 17th-century Europe. Dorigny's masterful etching technique shines through in its fluid, expressiv...
About the Artist
Michel Dorigny|Pierre Mariette · 1616–1665
French painter. Comment on works: Painter; History; Portrait; Engraver; Religious; Mythology; Draughtsman