The Drunken Silenus holding a cup aloft into which a Satyr pours wine

Art Historical Context

Jusepe de Ribera, known as Lo Spagnoletto, created this lively etching and engraving in 1628 while working in Naples. The Spanish-born artist, deeply influenced by Caravaggio’s dramatic realism, brought his signature intensity to printmaking. Here, the drunken Silenus—a companion of the god Bacchus—raises his cup as a satyr pours more wine, capturing a moment of mythological revelry with vivid energy. Ribera’s use of etching combined with engraving allowed him to achieve both bold lines and delicate shading, giving the scene a sculptural quality that was widely admired in the seventeenth cent...