Minneapolis Institute of Art

Bacchanal with a Statue of Ceres

Paul Gregoire

Date

1794

Medium

Pen and brown and black ink and gray wash over black chalk

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Followers of Bacchus, god of wine and the harvest, celebrated his feast day on September 3. Bacchanals were rowdy, drunken gatherings, often held illicitly in the forest or other wilderness locales. In front of the statue of Ceres, Roman goddess of agriculture, one celebrant commits the ultimate party foul: after consuming one too many, she has fallen to the ground and smashed a large vessel of wine. Meanwhile, her slightly more sober companions—many of them goat-like satyrs—dance, sing, and play instruments. Several carry pan pipes, flutes, cymbals, triangles, and drums. France, Europe

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