Festival of Bacchus Celebrated by Satyrs and Bacchantes

Claude Gillot’s four-etching series of riotous woodland bacchanals celebrates Bacchus, Pan, fauns, and the nymph Diana (see 1969.279–81). As stylistic precursors to the French Rococo with a deep interest in theater, Gillot’s prints are satirical and revolve around ancient sculpture. The young Bacchus appears here as the devotional focal point, his head atop a herm (a stone pillar topped with a carved head or bust, sometimes with a phallus) festooned with flowers and fruit. The bas-relief hanging above shows the god discovering his future wife, Ariadne, while the text below teasingly suggests that enough wine will solve all romantic problems.