Bacchante

A follower of Bacchus at rest

A bacchante, one of the female followers of Bacchus, the god of wine, lies stretched out on a blue cloth and raises a shallow dish. Behind her, a bearded satyr pours wine into it from a jug. The Venetian painter Sebastiano Ricci painted the scene around 1713.

The painting is in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.

A knowing smile

She turns to look out at us with a light, teasing smile, her blonde hair dressed with leaves. Ricci paints her skin in soft, glowing tones against the darker figures around her.

Satyrs and wine

The old satyr tips the jug with both hands. Another, at the left, reaches up to pick grapes from the vine. Satyrs, part man and part goat, were Bacchus’s wild companions.

Children of the feast

At the right, a small child clutches a large vessel, perhaps sneaking a drink.

In the foreground, another child has fallen fast asleep on a white cloth, worn out by the festivities.

Sebastiano Ricci, a travelling painter

Sebastiano Ricci (1659 to 1734) was born in Belluno, in the Veneto, and trained in Venice. He travelled widely, working in Bologna, Parma, Rome, Florence and Vienna. From about 1712 to 1716 he worked in England, with his nephew Marco Ricci, decorating great houses. His travels helped spread the light, colourful Venetian style across Europe.

He is seen as a key figure in the revival of Venetian painting, inspired by Paolo Veronese, and a forerunner of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

The world of Bacchus

Bacchus, called Dionysus by the Greeks, was the god of wine, festivity and ecstasy. His followers included satyrs, half-human, half-goat creatures, and bacchantes, women who celebrated him with dancing and wine. Such scenes offered painters a chance to show nude figures, rich colour and joyful movement. They were popular decorations for the homes of wealthy collectors.

Venetian colour and light

Ricci paints with warm, luminous colours: the pearly skin of the bacchante, the rich blue cloth, the golden wine and the soft greens of the landscape. The brushwork is fluent and lively. Light falls over the scene from the left, picking out the bodies against the darker background. The style recalls Veronese and the great Venetians of the sixteenth century.

In the Hermitage

The painting is in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, whose collection of Venetian eighteenth-century painting was largely formed by Russian emperors and nobles. Catherine the Great and her successors bought many works by Italian painters, and the Hermitage holds several pictures by Ricci.

Where to see it

Bacchante and Satyrs hangs in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Our hand-painted oil reproduction follows this composition. For more paintings of women in art, explore our famous paintings of women.

Questions about Bacchante

Who painted it?

Sebastiano Ricci (1659 to 1734), a Venetian painter.

Where is it?

State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.

What is a bacchante?

A female follower of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine.

When was it painted?

Around 1713.

Where did Ricci work?

Across Italy, in Vienna and in England, spreading the Venetian style.

Who are satyrs?

Half-human, half-goat followers of Bacchus.

Sources and image credit

• Wikimedia Commons: Bacchante and Satyrs, Hermitage

Public-domain reproduction of Bacchante and Satyrs (about 1713), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.