Bacchic Frieze
Henry Ferguson, Bacchic Frieze, 1680-1710, oil on canvas, Gift of The Samuel H. Kress Foundation, public domain, 61.60
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Bacchic Frieze
- Artist
- Date
1680-1710
- Medium
oil on canvas
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
9 1/4 in x 19 1/4 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
signature/maker's mark: unsigned
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
British
- Credit Line
Gift of The Samuel H. Kress Foundation
- Accession Number
61.60
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
Henry Ferguson's career led him from the Netherlands to Italy to England, where he painted numerous landscapes featuring fantasy ruins for an aristocratic clientele. Contemporaries criticized his landscapes as too dark and gloomy, but praised his depiction of classical sculpture, so this imaginary frieze may well have been cut from its surrounding landscape. The freize depicts a procession of the followers of Bacchus, the god of wine, whose festivals were characterized by unrestrained consumption and revelry. Nymphs and satyrs make music and dance around Silenus, Bacchus's tutor, who is so inebriated that he must be supported.