Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Dance of Fauns and Bacchants 1500 - 1550

This engraving, of unknown date and by an anonymous artist, is entitled Dance of Fauns and Bacchants. Here we see figures from classical mythology, and so we may consider the role played by classical themes in visual culture of the time. In Renaissance Italy, ancient Greek and Roman sources gained renewed importance. This can be attributed to a growing interest in humanist philosophy, and this artistic re-engagement served to grant cultural legitimacy to powerful families. The image’s meaning is created through references to antiquity, when Bacchants were the female followers of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, freedom, and ecstasy. The figures in the image would have signalled a definite set of cultural values, indicating that its commissioner was educated in the classics, and could afford to align himself or herself with ideals of beauty and virtue. The Warburg Institute in London would be an excellent place to start further research into the social function of classical imagery.