Bacchanal with Silenus (1475/80): Artwork and History

Bacchanal with Silenus (1475/80) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Workshop of Andrea Mantegna Italian, 1431-1506.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Andrea Mantegna’s adoption of ancient Roman motifs contributed to their prominence during the Italian Renaissance, especially when translated into widely circulating and frequently copied engravings. Mantegna’s oblong bacchanalian subjects particularly extol the wonders of the god of wine as well as the excesses of his entourage. Indeed, in this print of a procession-like grouping of figures, Dionysos’s portly, inebriated sidekick Silenos receives mock preferential treatment as he is lifted by satyrs and crowned with grapevines. The drunken satyrs, nymphs, and humans sing, make music, and grapple with unwieldy flesh as they cross a pool of wine and press on through the vineyard.

Object facts

• Title: Bacchanal with Silenus
• Date: 1475/80
• Artist attribution: Workshop of Andrea Mantegna Italian, 1431-1506
• Place of origin: Italy
• Medium: Engraving on laid paper
• Dimensions: Sheet: 31.2 × 44.3 cm (12 5/16 × 17 1/2 in.)
• Type: Print
• Department: Prints and Drawings
• Reference number: 1956.1010

Collection credit

Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.

View the original

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.