Siddende Bacchus 1769 - 1770

J.F. Clemens created this print of a seated Bacchus sometime between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The image is not a direct study from life, but rather a reproduction of a sculpture, which itself revives the classical world and its pagan deities. The male nude was going through a resurgence as a subject at this time. Consider too the setting in which Clemens was working - likely Germany or Denmark - where new art academies and museums were being founded to develop the public's taste for antique styles. Engravings such as this allowed for the wider circulation of approved taste. These were produced and sold for profit, but also acted as a tool of cultural instruction. To understand this image better, one would need to research the collections and exhibition histories of museums such as the SMK. This reminds us that art's meaning is always tied to its specific social and institutional circumstances.