Bacchus

Art Historical Context

This striking drawing of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, was created by an anonymous Italian artist working in the second half of the sixteenth century, possibly from Naples. Rendered in black chalk with delicate gray wash on blue paper, the work captures the mythological figure in a moment of relaxed revelry, embodying the period’s renewed interest in classical antiquity. Created between 1551 and 1600, the sheet reflects the transitional artistic climate between late Mannerism and the emerging Baroque sensibility, when artists across Italy explored dynamic poses and expressive modeling. The ...