Workshop of Andrea Mantegna
Italian, 1431-1506
Bacchanal with Silenus
INV-4278
Workshop of Andrea Mantegna
Italian, 1431-15061475/80
Bacchanal with Silenus
Workshop of Andrea Mantegna Italian, 1431-1506 →engravingprint
Date
1475/80
Medium
Engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 31.2 × 44.3 cm (12 5/16 × 17 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
Andrea Mantegna’s adoption of ancient Roman motifs contributed to their prominence during the Italian Renaissance, especially when translated into widely circulating and frequently copied engravings. Mantegna’s oblong bacchanalian subjects particularly extol the wonders of the god of wine as well as the excesses of his entourage. Indeed, in this print of a procession-like grouping of figures, Dionysos’s portly, inebriated sidekick Silenos receives mock preferential treatment as he is lifted by satyrs and crowned with grapevines. The drunken satyrs, nymphs, and humans sing, make music, and grapple with unwieldy flesh as they cross a pool of wine and press on through the vineyard.
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