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Bacchanal with Silenus

Print
ca. 1470 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Andrea Mantegna was a key figure in the generation of Italian artists of the late quattrocento who were inspired by ancient art and drew themes from classical myth and literature. His bold engravings, which admirably reflect his skills as a draughtsman, were rediscovered and became sought after by collectors, including Ionides, in the late nineteenth century. In this scene, one of a pair of prints of Bacchanalian revelries, Mantegna represents the crowning of the drunken Silenus, who, inspired by wine, was victorious in a poetic contest.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleBacchanal with Silenus (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Engraving
Brief description
Andrea Mantegna, engraving, Bacchanal scene with the crowning of Silenus; Mantua, Italy, ca. 1470.
Physical description
Print showing a bacchanalian scene with the crowning of Silenus at centre.
Dimensions
  • Sheet trimmed height: 32.2cm
  • Sheet trimmed width: 44.9cm
  • Platemark max, (irregular shape) height: 31.5cm
  • Platemark max, (irregular shape) width: 44.2cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
119 (numbered in print vertically left side)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides
Object history
Bequeathed in 1900 by by C.A. Ionides
Purchased by Ionides in 1882 with a group of prints by Mantegna and Pollaiuolo from the dealer Goupil for £75
Subjects depicted
Summary
Andrea Mantegna was a key figure in the generation of Italian artists of the late quattrocento who were inspired by ancient art and drew themes from classical myth and literature. His bold engravings, which admirably reflect his skills as a draughtsman, were rediscovered and became sought after by collectors, including Ionides, in the late nineteenth century. In this scene, one of a pair of prints of Bacchanalian revelries, Mantegna represents the crowning of the drunken Silenus, who, inspired by wine, was victorious in a poetic contest.
Bibliographic references
  • Bartsch, Adam von, 1757-1821. The illustrated Bartsch. New York : Abaris Books, 1978-
  • Mantegna, Andrea, 1431-1506. Andrea Mantegna. London : Royal Academy of Arts in association with Electa, Milano ; New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art : Distributed by Abrams, 1992.
  • Christiansen, Keith. 'The Case for Mantegna as Printmaker', in The Burlington Magazine. Vol. 135, No. 1086 (Sep., 1993), pp. 604-612.
  • Vickers, Michael. 'The Palazzo Santacroce Sketchbook': A New Source for Andrea Mantegna's "Triumph of Caesar:, "Bacchanals" and "Battle of the Sea Gods", in The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 118, No. 885 (Dec., 1976), pp. 824-835.
  • 'The Intended Setting of Mantegna's "Triumph of Caesar", "Battle of the Sea Gods" and "Bacchanals" ', in The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 120, No. 903, Special Issue Devoted to the Italian Quattrocento (Jun., 1978), pp. 365-370.
  • Bartsch, Adam von. Le Peintre Graveur. Vienna, 1811. Vol XIII.
  • Hind, A.M. Early Italian Engraving. Washington, 1948. Part 2, Vol. 5,
  • Landau, David and Peter Parshall. The Renaissance Print: 1470-1550. Yale University Press, 1994.
  • pp.196/7 Dionysos: Rausch und Ekstase, München : Hirmer, 2013. ISBN: 9783777420936
  • p.199 Ortrud Westheider and Michael Philipp, eds. Dionysos: Rausch Und Ekstase Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, 2014. ISBN: 978-3777420936.
Other number
6 - Le Peintre-Graveur
Collection
Accession number
CAI.600

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Record createdMarch 26, 2008
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