Blenheim Palace Sarcophagus: Bacchanale with Lion's Head
1549/53
Medium
Pen and brown ink on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
19.4 × 28.5 cm (7 11/16 × 11 1/4 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
112798
Art Historical Context
Created around 1549–53, *Blenheim Palace Sarcophagus Bacchanale with Lion Head* is a masterful pen and brown ink drawing by Girolamo dapi, a prominent Italian Mannerist artist from Ferrara. Measuring just 19.4 × 28.5 cm on ivory paper, this intimate sheet captures the intricate carvings of an ancient Roman sarc, now housed at England's grand Blenheim Palace. Carpi, known for his fluid line work and classical inspirations, exemplifies the Renaissance fascination with antiquity during the mid-16th century. The scene bursts with Bacchanalian revelry—Dionysian figures in ecstatic dance amid vines...