The Drunk Bacchus
Medium
Woodcut; second of two states
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 11/16 × 5 15/16 in. (22 × 15.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1927
Accession Number
27.54.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Drunk Bacchus a captivating woodcut by the German Renaissance artist Hans Bald Grien, created around 1520. Baldung, a protégé of Albrecht Dürer was renowned for his bold, expressive prints that often delved into themes of sensuality, mortality, and excess. This work, in its second state—a refined edition of the original block—measures a compact 8 11/16 × 5 15/16 inches, making it an intimate yet powerful piece from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection, acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1927. The image portrays Bacchus, the Roman god of wi...
About the Artist
Hans Baldung (called Hans Baldung Grien) · 1484–1545
Hans Baldung Grien (1484/85–1545), born in Schwäbisch Gmünd into an erudite family of jurists and physicians, forsook academia to pursue art. His early training around 1500 took place in the Upper Rhineland, likely Strasbourg, before he apprenticed under Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg from 1503 to 1507. There, the young artist honed his skills in painting, printmaking, and stained glass, even managin...