Cleveland Museum of Art

The Drinking Customs of Society or Worship of Bacchus

Date

1864

Medium

steel engraving

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Made during the Victorian era in England (1837–1901), this grandly scaled print utilizes the imagery of a Roman bacchanalia — an ancient wine-fueled festival dedicated to Bacchus—to convey a frenzy of activities related to alcohol and its role in society. Bacchus, Silenus (his teacher), and a bacchant (a follower) appear as sculptures in the center, while widows and orphans, whose husbands and fathers have succumbed to alcohol, appear below. Foreground vignettes featuring a religious service, social gathering, marriage feast, christening, birthday party, and funeral demonstrate alcohol’s ubiquity in middle-class society. George Cruikshank was part of a movement in England that promoted moderation—or even complete abstinence—in the consumption of alcohol. Gin became available in England in the early 1700s. Unlike more expensive spirits, gin was popular with people of all classes, leading to a moral panic that persisted throughout the 1800s.

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