The Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne

Stories from the life of Bacchus (Dionysus), the Roman god of wine and merrymaking, were among Poussin’s favourite subjects. The theme of the Bacchanalia, an orgiastic festival held in tribute to Bacchus, allowed Poussin to unfold the sensual and dynamic aspect of his talent, and he depicted it in several variations. The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg houses a painting whose composition is identical to that of the engraving by Beauvais, which may be a copy of Poussin’s lost work. The naked woman reclining in the foreground can be seen in similar poses in other of Poussin’s paintings. This type of sensuous nude refers to Bacchanals by Titian, now in the Prado Museum in Madrid (1523-1526). In his early period, Poussin was fascinated by Titian’s paintings, which he studied and paraphrased intensively.