Idyll between Dionysus and Ariadne

Oil on canvas

78 x 101 cm

In frame 97 x 120 cm

This delightful composition illustrates the myth of the love between Ariadne and the god Dionysus, a classic theme much appreciated and recurrent in Baroque and Rococo art because it is linked to hedonism and love: the episode was in fact represented as a pretext to praise the joys of life's pleasures (wine, love, sensuality) in contrast to the fleeting nature of time, often associated with the Renaissance concept of “Carpe Diem”.

The work derives, albeit with some variations, from one of the best-known compositions by Antoine Coypel (Paris 1661 - 1722), commissioned by the Duke of Orléans in 1693, brother of King Louis XIV, to decorate the study of the Château de Saint-Cloud. It is now housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (oil on canvas, 73 x 85.5 cm; inv. no. 1990-54-1).

The composition immediately became very popular and therefore there are several copies, studies and period prints. Another version, oil on copper and smaller in size, is kept at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

The artist himself made an engraving of it in 1693, contributing to its dissemination. Various prints and copies can be found in museums and private collections, including a print kept at the Certosa and National Museum of San Martino in Naples.

Going into the details of the composition, it depicts the love affair between the god Dionysus, called Bacchus by the Romans, and the beautiful Ariadne, daughter of Minos, king of Crete, as described by classical sources and in particular by the Latin poet Ovid (Metamorphoses, book VIII).

Ariadne was deceived and abandoned on the island of Naxos by the young Athenian hero Theseus, with whom she was in love and whom she had helped to defeat the terrible Minotaur. After learning of her beloved's betrayal, the princess began to despair relentlessly until her sad lament reached the ears of the god Bacchus who, when he saw her, was captivated by her beauty, fell madly in love with her and decided to take her as his wife.

Behind her, with a lit torch, is depicted Fame, who enshrines her everlasting memory in the constellation that will take its name from her.

The canvas, which draws on the classical source, is set in an idyllic landscape on the coast of the island, at the moment when Bacchus arrives followed by his procession of nymphs and satyrs, with one hand on his heart and the other grasping Ariadne's arm to propose marriage to her.

Dionysus and Ariadne

Antoine Coypel (painter), Gérard Audran (engraver)

Rijks Museum, Amsterdam

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work is sold complete with an attractive frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic card.

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