The Triumph of Bacchus

The Bacchic procession as a relief in paint — a grisaille panel that mimics carved marble, the whole retinue of the wine-god in a frieze. An 18th-century decorative conceit: paint pretending to be stone, so the party could run around a whole room. A faithful reproduction of a public-domain painting at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Look how the flat grey pretends to have depth — the painter carving with light alone. Every age wants its revels cut into something permanent.

Maker

Piat Joseph Sauvage

Date

early 1780s

Medium of the original

Painting

Original held by

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Credit

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Rights

Cleared for print

Catalogue number

PA-00228