Bacchus and Ariadne
Date: 1523
Art Form: Painting
Dimensions: 176.5 X 191 cm (69.49 X 75.2 in)
Serie: Mythological paintings (poesie) for Philip II (1553-1562)
This colorful history painting (also known as a poesie) is one of a cycle of mythological pictures based on classical texts which were commissioned by Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, for his Camerino d'Alabastro – a private chamber in his ducal palace in Ferrara. This work - a substitute for one by Raphael - was one of three provided by Titian between 1518 and 1525. The other two are Worship of Venus (1518-1519) and Bacchanal of the Andrians (1523-1525), both now in the Prado Museum, Madrid.
Derived from stories by the Roman poets Ovid and Catullus, this picture portrays the first encounter between Bacchus (god of wine), and Ariadne (daughter of King Minos), on the island of Naxos. Despite her vital role in helping Theseus to defeat the minotaur, Ariadne has been deserted by her lover, whose ship can be seen (far left of the picture) sailing away into the distance. As she watches the ship depart, her sorrow is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Bacchus and his unruly troupe of drunken friends, one of whom (a satyr) is waving aloft the head of an animal they have just killed (its head is lying on the ground). When the startled Ariadne turns to face the revelers, she sees Bacchus leaping from his chariot and their eyes meet: it is love at first sight. Bacchus leaps down from his chariot, drawn by two cheetahs, and declares his love. He promises to be a more faithful partner than Theseus and offers her a constellation of stars (Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown) as a wedding gift. Other versions have Bacchus raising her to heaven and transforming her into a constellation, represented by the eight stars above her.
Titian manages to extract the maximum amount of drama out of the story, mainly through the dynamic postures adopted by his two main actors. But equally important are their swirling draperies with their luminous blue and rose tones - Titian's two favorite colors. At any rate, the composition is filled with movement and color, as semi-naked figures writhe and cavort in poses taken from Greek sculpture of classical antiquity, such as the satyr who is struggling with snakes in a similar fashion to that shown in the Greek statue Laocoon and His Sons (c.125 BC). A diagonal dividing line separates the golds and greens of the landscape scene from the broad area of ultramarine blue (obtained by grinding the most expensive of all color pigments - the Afghanistan-mined lapis lazuli).
