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Bacchic Frieze


Henry Ferguson, Bacchic Frieze, 1680-1710, oil on canvas, Gift of The Samuel H. Kress Foundation, public domain, 61.60

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Details
Title

Bacchic Frieze

Artist

Henry Ferguson (Dutch, 1655-1730)

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

Bacchus

canvas

friezes

mythology

nymphs

Object Stories

oil paint

oil paintings

paintings

Samuel H. Kress Foundation

satyrs

Description

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.

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