Bacchanal with a Dancing Couple on the Right

Art Historical Context

**Bacchanal with a Dancing Couple the Right** is a delicate etching on laid paper by Dutch printmaker Willem Basse, created sometime between 1601 and1650. Measuring just 7.4 x 12.4 cm—small enough to fit in the palm of your hand—this intimate print captures a lively scene of revelry, with a dancing couple prominently featured on the amid a bacchanalian gathering. Etching, a technique Basse mastered, involves drawing into a wax-coated metal plate with acid etching the lines, allowing for fluid, expressive marks ideal for crowded compositions like this one. In the early 17th century, during the...