Bacchanales: The Satyr's Family
Medium
etching
Dimensions
image: 14.5 × 21.4 cm · sheet: 18 × 24.5 cm
Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Trust
Accession Number
2012.64.2
Tags
male
About this artwork
Fragonard created these charming etchings shortly after returning from Italy, where he encountered similar Roman antiquities. Satyrs and nymphs frolic in this suite of playfully erotic scenes, which he conceived as low-relief sculptures on stone fragments nestled in the foliage of country gardens. The abundant vegetation—as well as the satyr and human children—symbolizes the wild fecundity of nature.