Bacchus Consoling Ariadne
Aimé-Jules Dalou
c. 1892
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
81.3 × 54.6 × 54 cm (32 × 21 1/2 × 21 1/4 in.)
Classification
statuette
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
100050
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Having been abandoned on the Greek island of Naxos, the mythological princess Ariadne was discovered by Bacchus, god of wine, who fell in love with her. In Dalou’s plaster she is tenderly awakened by the deity while a mischievous faun (a half-human, half-goat creature) attempts to distract the couple with an offering of grapes. Aimé-Jules Dalou was a protégé of the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and spent his early years studying the art of the 18th century. His first success came with images ...