Bacchus and Ariadne
18th century
Medium
Black and white chalk
Dimensions
15 3/8 x 21 1/8 in. (39 x 53.7 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Guy Wildenstein Gift, 2008
Accession Number
2008.43
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jean-Hugues Taraval's *Bacchus and Ariadne (18th century) is a captivating black and white chalk drawing that brings the timeless myth of the Roman god of wine and his beloved Ariadne to life. Measuring 15⅜ × 21⅛ inches, this work from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints depicts the divine couple amid a leafy, tree-dotted landscape—a nod to the moment Bacchus discovers Ariadne abandoned on the island of Naxos Theseus, showering her with jewels and eternal love. Taraval, a French Rococo artist who later worked in Sweden, masterfully employs black and white chalk to create subt...