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Bacchante

1785
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
A subject of fascination for artists since antiquity, the bacchante was typically depicted cavorting with a lustful Bacchus and surrounded by fauns and satyrs. Thus Vigée Le Brun’s serene bacchante confounded Salon audiences and elicited contradictory responses. Critics complained that the figure was more beautiful than sensuous, more nymph than bacchante, but admiration was strong. Her glazed expression and ruddy cheeks suggest that she knew the charms of drink.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bacchante
  • Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)
  • Date: 1785
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: Oval, 28 7/8 × 23 3/8 in. (73.3 × 59.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, Acquired by Sterling and Francine Clark, 1939 (1955.954)
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings