Combats and Triumphs: The Triumph of Bacchus

Engraving, part of a set of 12 prints of rectangular shape, executed over black backgrounds, and depicting combats and triumphs, likely influenced by the combat scenes created by German masters such as Georg Pencz and the Beham brothers. This print represents Bacchus, wearing a vine wreath, sitting on a chariot pulled by two hoerses, and holding in his right hand bunches of grapes, while leaning his left arm on an urn in which a vine has been planted. The chariot is preceded by Bacchers, playing music and carrying torches, goblets filled with fruits, and plates. Behind it is another group of Bacchers, one of them lifring a plate upon which another poses the head of a boar. In the second plane, right in front of Bacchus, walk two satyrs, one of them carrying on his back a spiral-shaped vase. Two children are riding the horses that pull the chariot, lifting with their hands a double Janus head. Between the legs of the horses, in the shadow, are two lions, not usually associated with Bacchus, replacing the more common tigers or leopards that often appear with him. On the ground there is also a basket with fruits (possibly an equivalent to a cornucopia of abundance), grapes, and a goblet, all of them common attributes of Bacchus. This composition is closely related to a print by Georg Pencz and, more so, to a print by the Master I.B., both of the same subject.