Bacchic Scene

Venetian school, 18th century

Bacchic scene

Oil on canvas, cm 42 X 69

With frame, cm 53 X 79

This small picture of a Venetian school depicts the meeting between different deities with the protagonist being the god Bacchus, intent on 'pouring' a glass of wine to a female figure sitting on some bundles of wheat. The latter is to be identified with Ceres, the patron goddess of agriculture, often represented in the company of the god of harvest for obvious connections related to life and work in the fields. Bacchus, recognizable by the tirso, the crown of vines and the grape cluster that squeezes in such a spectacular and ostentatious way to fill the glass of Ceres, is placed at the center of this country scene, surrounded by other mythological figures who look at the spectator almost wanted to invite him to join their small ceremony. The first one on the left is identified with Flora, deity of spring, given the great quantity of flowers that surrounds it; next we find another woman, sitting at the bottom right while holding a cornucopia from which comes out a river of fruits, Symbol of agricultural abundance usually associated with the goddess Opi; finally, behind the scenes we find a faun who brings a basket of mushrooms to the guests. The scene contrasts the dynamic of the two male characters to the more static poses of the female ones, while the background is divided between the foliage of the forest and a glimpse of hills on which rise two buildings attributable to castles. The details of flowers, mushrooms, fruits and in general of natural elements are treated with a dense brush stroke and bright colors, while the faces of the figures in the foreground show a spontaneous expressiveness, serene and, in the case of Bacchus, playful. The latter, together with Ceres, emerges through the sinuosity given by the lines of the body on which the garments fall and accentuated by the almost theatrical pose. 

The object is in good condition