Feste de Bacchus (Festival of Bacchus from, Bacchannales or the Quatre Festes)
c.1693-1722
Medium
Etching on paper
Dimensions
Image: 17.3 × 35.7 cm (6 13/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Plate: 22 × 37.2 cm (8 11/16 × 14 11/16 in.); Sheet: 30.5 × 46 cm (12 1/16 × 18 1/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
31681
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Claude Gillot’s four-etching series of riotous woodland bacchanals celebrates Bacchus, Pan, fauns, and the nymph Diana (see 1969.279–81). As stylistic precursors to the French Rococo with a deep interest in theater, Gillot’s prints are satirical and revolve around ancient sculpture. The young Bacchus appears here as the devotional focal point, his head atop a herm (a stone pillar topped with a carved head or bust, sometimes with a phallus) festooned with flowers and fruit. The bas-relief hanging...
Art Historical Context
Claude Gillot's *Feste de Bacchus created around 1693–1722, captures the exuberant spirit of a Bacchanalian festival honoring the Roman god of wine, revelry, and ecstasy. Part of the series *Bacchannales* or *the Quatre Festes*, etching depicts a lively procession of mythological figures dancing and celebrating amid lush landscapes, evoking the opulent fêtes of France's late Baroque era under Louis XIV. Gillot, a pioneering French artist and etcher (1673–1722), bridged the grandeur of classical mythology with the playful elegance that would inspire the Rococo style and his pupil Antoine Watteau. Rendered as an etching on paper—measuring 17.3 × 35.7 cm for the image—this work showcases Gillot's mastery of the intaglio technique He drew directly onto a metal plate with acid-resistant ground, allowing nitric acid to "bite" intricate lines for rich tonal contrasts and fluid details. Etchings like this were revolutionary for their reproducibility, making high-art scenes accessible beyond oil paintings. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints and Drawings Department, *Feste de Bacchus* reflects the cultural fascination with antiquity during the Regency period, blending hedonism and fantasy. It's a window into 18th-century France's love for theatrical, joyous escapism—a perfect gem for print enthusiasts.
About the Artist
Claude Gillot · 1673–1722
Artist known for his elegant designs done in the Rococo manner of Audran; also for his predilection for scenes from the 'comedia dell'arte.' Few paintings survive; his work is known mainly through drawings and etchings. Comment on works: Genre; History