The Triumph of Bacchus 1780 - 1783

Piat Joseph Sauvage created this monochrome panel with oil on slate, a stone with a fine grain that allowed him to mimic the appearance of a traditional bas-relief sculpture. The singular color brings unity to the lively scene, depicting the Roman god of wine and ecstasy, Bacchus, and his putti followers. Oil paint can take on an incredible range of textures, from the smooth to the matte, to reflect light in certain ways. Sauvage explored its potential to deceive, and in this way, he played with the conventions of both painting and sculpture. The choice of slate as a support is not accidental, as it's associated with permanence and recalls ancient Roman carvings. Yet slate is also a commonplace material, used for roofing and writing tablets. By using oil paint to imitate stone carvings, Sauvage blurs the lines between high and low art, and raises questions about how we assign value to different materials and artistic practices.