Bacchanale

Art Historical Context

Pierre Breiette’s *Bacchan* is a compact lively etching created between 0 and 1642. The small sheet, measuring just 2½ by 6⅝ inches, depicts a festive procession featuring the Roman god Bacchus amid men, women, centaurs, and horses. Through fluid lines and animated groupings, Brebiette captures exuberant spirit of classical mythology in a format suited for intimate viewing or inclusion in albums. As an etching, the work reflects the growing popularity of printmaking in-century Europe. The medium allowed artists to reproduce intricate designs affordably, spreading images of ancient myths beyon...

About the Artist

Pierre Brebiette · 1598–1642

Pierre Brébiette (c. 1598–c. 1642) was a French painter and etcher whose elegant, sensuous treatment of classical mythology and allegory earned him a significant reputation in early seventeenth-century Paris. Born in Mantes-sur-Seine, Brébiette traveled to Italy as a young man and lived and worked in Rome from around 1617 to approximately 1625, absorbing the influences of ancient sculpture, Renais...