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Bacchus and Ariadne, c. 1685-86

Luca Giordano (Italian, 1634-1705)
Oil on canvas
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
© Chrysler Museum of Art

When Theseus, aided by the virgin’s art,
Had trac’d the guiding thread thro’ ev’ry part,
He took the gentle maid, that set him free,
And, bound for Dias, cut the briny sea.
There, quickly cloy’d, ungrateful, and unkind,
Left his fair consort in the isle behind,
Whom Bacchus saw, and straining in his arms
Her rifled bloom, and violated charms,
Resolves, for this, the dear engaging dame
Shou’d shine for ever in the rolls of Fame;
And bids her crown among the stars be plac’d,
With an eternal constellation grac’d.
The golden circlet mounts; and, as it flies,
Its diamonds twinkle in the distant skies;
There, in their pristin form, the gemmy rays
Between Alcides, and the dragon blaze.

— Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 8

BACCHUS AND ARIADNE

After reading Ovid's account of Bacchus and Ariadne, how do you interpret Ariadne's mood in this painting?

When Bacchus first saw Ariadne slumbering by the water's edge on his favorite island of Naxos, she was awash in the melancholy of recent heartbreak. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, had helped the hero Theseus defeat the Minotaur. She supplied him with a magical sword to slay the dreaded beast and a ball of golden thread to find his way back through the Minotaur's lair, the Labyrinth. Ariadne's aid was rewarded by abandonment, as Theseus left her fast asleep on Naxos. Venus felt pity towards the distraught princess and promised her an immortal lover to replace her faithless mortal one. In consequence, Bacchus, the god of wine, fell instantly in love with Ariadne when he happened upon her sleeping. Bacchus bestowed a jeweled wedding crown upon his bride, and when Ariadne eventually died he threw her crown into the heavens. There, it was transformed into a constellation, the corona borealis ("northern crown").

Which moment in the story has the artist chosen to portray?

In this painting, Luca Giordano has captured the moment when Bacchus encounters Ariadne for the first time. The god, surrounded by his entourage of maenads, satyrs, wild cats, and putti, throws up his arms in a rush of emotion for the crestfallen maiden. Ariadne, unaware of his presence, languishes sadly by the coast of Naxos, mourning the lover who left her behind. The impending marriage and enduring love of the present pair is foreshadowed by the floating marriage crown, Cupid launching his arrow at Bacchus, and the figure of Venus floating majestically above Ariadne.

Did you know?
The Romans adopted much of Greek mythology. They gave many of the Greek gods and goddesses Latin names that flowed more easily from the Roman tongue.

ARTISTIC SOURCES

The Museum's painting is one of at least three painted by Giordano on the same subject. The work has been dated to the artist's sojourn in Florence of 1685-86. While there, he adorned the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in fresco with The Triumph of Bacchus and would have seen Michelangelo's tomb of Giuliano de' Medici in the Church of San Lorenzo. In particular, the figure of Ariadne pays homage to Michelangelo's representation of Night sculpted in marble over a century and a half earlier. The coloring of Giordano's Bacchus and Ariadne, with its palette of silvery blues, rich pinks, and golden earth tones, immediately evokes Titian's earlier work of the same subject. The energetic figure of Bacchus found in both paintings effectively conveys the force with which Bacchus was struck with love for his future bride.

Fresco: A technique in which paint is applied directly to wet plaster in such a way that as the paint dries, it becomes a permanent part of the wall's surface.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Luca Giordano was born in Naples in 1632. He was well-known by his contemporaries for the extraordinary speed with which he covered vast ceilings, domes, and walls in fresco. When the demand for Giordano's work grew to such a degree that his father urged him to maximize his artistic output, he was nicknamed Luca Fa Presto ("makes haste" or "works quickly"). Giordano studied under Jusepe Ribera and Pietro da Cortona, and besides emulating his masters, he trained by copying works by Raphael. He developed a talent for imitating others, so that his body of work enjoys great variation in style, subject matter, and technique. During his career, Giordano traveled to Florence, Venice, Madrid, and Toledo, eventually returning to his native city before his death in 1705.

- Kristi McMillan

RESOURCES

A Century of Masters from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., exhibition catalogue. Fort Worth: Fort Worth Art Center, 1962.

Harrison, Jefferson C. The Chrysler Museum: Handbook of the European and American Collections. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum, 1991.

Luca Giordano, 1634-1705, exhibition catalogue. Naples: Electa Napoli, 2001.

Zafran, Eric. "From the Renaissance to the Grand Tour," Apollo 107:194 (1978), pp. 4-15.

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