Bacchanaal 18th century

Monogrammist FD, an engraver active in the 16th century, made this print titled "Bacchanal". It depicts a scene of revelry from classical mythology, complete with classical figures, putti, and copious amounts of drink. At the time, mythological scenes like this were used to signal an artist’s erudition and to ennoble his patron through association with a prestigious classical heritage. However, this artist complicates this picture, by drawing the figures with an earthy, informal naturalism. The mood is closer to a drunken party, perhaps with the suggestion of licentious behaviour. Prints like this, relatively cheap and easily portable, were traded across Europe and collected in albums. They were a vital means by which artistic ideas circulated transnationally. The classical subject matter may have resonated with elite society, but it also perhaps pokes fun at their self-importance. Prints and other historical documents can tell us more about the cultural institutions and social classes that consumed art like this, and the meanings they found in it.