Bacchus and Ariadne

(Gian Antonio Burrini)

The painting depicts the marriage bed of Bacchus and Ariadne at the moment he crowns her and just before he sets the crown in the sky as the constellation of Corona, ensuring that she will be commemorated forever in the stars. Abandoned on the island of Dia (in some versions on Naxox) by Theseus, she is rescued and married by Bacchus, hence the marriage bed and the box of jewels which probably represents her dowry. In the background Theseus’s ship is just disappearing and the Bacchic retinue beginning to surround the lovers.

108 x 145 cms

Oil on canvas

Acquired through The Matthiesen Gallery by a private client

Baroque - 1600-1720

Mythological

Italian - Bolognese

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