Getty Museum

Bacchus and Ariadne

Date

about 1700–1744

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Italian

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, sits in a rocky landscape with his wife, Ariadne. He holds grapes and a wine cup, while she squeezes grapes into a ewer of wine at her side. She wears the golden crown--set with red gems to look like roses--that Bacchus gave her upon their marriage. In addition to this bronze, Piamontini also created a large marble group of the same composition, signed and dated 1732, now in a private collection. The sculptor arranged the two figures not to be seen from all sides but primarily from a single viewpoint in front. Despite the shallowness of the composition, the figures gracefully twist on their axes. Ariadne in particular assumes the form of a corkscrew, with her knees bending to her right and her shoulders swinging to the left. As was characteristic of sculpture at this time, the figures' bodies are much more expressive than their faces, which are emotionally blank. Porcelain copies of this group were produced by the Ginori Porcelain Manufactory at Doccia.

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