Pervasive, yet Elusive, Dionysos

THE
^
'
•
Pervasive YET ELUSIVE.
lon^sos
This brochure accompanies an exhibition of the same
Bowdoin College Museum of Art from
Cover
illustrations: Black-Figure Panel
(CATALOG NO.
2)
This brochure
is
April
Amphora
at the
2 through June
with Dionysos,
1
7,
200
the George Otis Hamlin Fund.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Dennis Griggs.Topsham, Maine
DESIGN
Bath,
Maine
PRINTER
Franklin Printing, Farmington, Maine
Copyright© 2001 Bowdoin College
\
1
Nymphs, and
published with support from the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and
Mahan Graphics,
1
name
Satyrs
INTRODUCTION
This
exhibition tracks the recurrent presence of the
his
two
various associates though
millennia of western art.
organized by Olivia Vitale, Bowdoin
curatorial intern at the
Mellon intern
charged with
is
'96,
facilitating
has been
It
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
the
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
collections into teaching across the
god Dionysos and
for
2000-2001. The
the active integration of the museum's
whole spectrum of the college curriculum.
Before returning to Bowdoin, Ms. Vitale received her M.A.
Williams College, where she participated
in
a
seminar
in
Art History
in
at
the significance and
symbology of Dionysos. She became fascinated with the complex meaning and
apparendy timeless appeal of
god of wine,
this
agriculture, the fertility of nature,
and orgiastic release, and was pleased to renew her acquaintance with
image
his
and many guises as she delved into the Bowdoin museum's holdings. Relying almost
on objects owned by the museum, supplemented by a
exclusively
works from generous
number
small
of
private and institutional lenders, her exhibition persuasively
follows the god and his
henchmen
as they have inspired the eye, hand,
and psyche
of artists from ancient times to the present.
The museum continues
1992 launched
staff
of the
to remain grateful to the Mellon Foundation, which
The
enlightened and creative use of the museum's collections.
this
museum
joins
me
in
expressing our appreciation to Olivia for her
in
exhaustive exploration of the collection, her energetic and successful outreach to
faculty,
her tenacious investigation of the Dionysian thread, and the pleasure of her
presence among
us.
Katy Kline
Director
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
number
There
encouragement
are a
of people
whom
I'd
to thank for their support and
like
My
of this exhibition. The Pervos/Ve, Yet Elusive, Dionysos.
interest
student
in
Hedreen
Dionysos began more than a year ago when
in
the history of art at Williams College.
for introducing
me
and Company. Thanks also to
me
and research with
I
in
like
was
I
a
graduate
to thank Professor
my
colleagues,
who
generously shared their insights
the context of that seminar
this project,
own
Professor Houser's
was mounted
at the
When
pioneering exhibition Dionysos and His
Fogg
Museum
of Art
in
1979.
On more
Houser met and corresponded with me about
me
professor emerita of Bryn
in
I
than one occasion, Professor
present exhibition, and
art.
Mawr
I'd
Lehman Lecturer
in
doing
also like to thank Phyllis Pray Bober,
College,
whose
careful research
met her and to have spoken with her about her
am
which
has been an
on interpretations
the Renaissance has been formative to this exhibition.
grateful to have
Furthermore,
this
Circle,
Her catalogue
with her insights, experiences, and creative approaches to the
study and exhibition of ancient
of Dionysos
I
soon came across the catalogue that accompanied
I
enormously important resource for me.
she inspired
Guy
to this fascinating subject through his seminar, Dionysos
extend special thanks to Professor Caroline Houser of Smith College.
began working on
so,
I'd
delighted that she will
in
visit
the History of Art.
I
Bowdoin
I
am
ever
ideas.
this spring as this year's
Although
show comprises mostly works from Bowdoin
this
few lenders, both
collection, a
College's
and private, have kindly agreed to
institutional
Museum
share their images of Dionysos with the Bowdoin College
the occasion of this exhibition.
First,
permanent
I
of Art on
wish to thank James Cuno, Elizabeth
and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard University Art Museums,
as well as the curators
and
staff
of the Sackler Museum's Ancient Art
department for agreeing to lend two art objects of exceptional
the
an Attic red-figure hydria
first
textile (cat. 30).
Amy
(cat.
I
I
),
quality:
and the second a Coptic
Brauer, Diane Heath Beever Assistant Curator of
Ancient Art, and Karen Manning, Curatorial Assistant, deserve special
recognition for their assistance with
to the staff of the
and
in
Silver
36
Tetradrachm ofThasos
with Head of Dionysos
requests. Secondly, thanks are due
Bowdoin College Library
Special Collections
particular Director Richard Lindemann. Thirdly,
Pendexter for
CATALOG NO.
my
enthusiasm about
his
personal treasures.
Finally,
I
am
lent part of his collection to this
me
and expertise to
For their help
in
this
show and
grateful to David
throughout
P.
like
Becker
'70,
&
Archives,
to thank Charles
to share his
his willingness
who
show, but has generously offered
has not only
his
guidance
this process.
the production of this brochure,
who photographed the works
who approached the brochure's
I'd
of art beautifully
I
wish to thank: Dennis Griggs
and with care; Michael Mahan
design with creativity; and
Bowdoin
'73,
College's
Director of Publications, Lucie G.Teegarden, whose editorial suggestions were
invaluable.
Special thanks are
due to Carter Mull of Barbara Gladstone Gallery
for his assistance with copyrights and images.
Many members
of
Bowdoin
College's faculty have been supportive of this proj-
ect,
but special thanks are due to professors James Higginbotham, Thomas Cornell,
and
Julie
I
would
McGee,
of
all
whom
have assisted
me
at various stages
in its
preparation.
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, who
also like to thank the staff of the
offered editorial advice together with encouragement and support during the
sometimes
L.
difficult creative
Jenks, Laura
J.
process: Suzanne K. Bergeron, V. Scott
Latman, Chad M. MacDermid
and Victoria B.Wilson.
I
show from
production.
I
am most
generous support has given
and to
realize
grateful to the
me
exhibition.
in this
Olivia C.Vitale '96
Curatorial Intern
\
2
me
Andrew W. Mellon
the opportunity to pursue
those interests here
Andrew W. Mellon
L.
Ferris, curator, for their
the onset, and for the guidance they offered
Finally,
Dimond,
Nelson, Jose
Patricia
Ribas '76,
reserve special gratitude for Katy Kline, director of the
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, and Alison
this
'00, Liza
my
at
all
support of
stages of
Foundation,
its
whose
research interests
THE PERVASIVE, YET ELUSIVE, DIONYSOS
A
current of ambivalence toward the ancient Greek god Dionysos runs
throughout
classical literature.
With peoples
of the ancient Mediterranean
world, including the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans, the cult of Dionysos
was both exceedingly widespread and
Yet despite his stature
long-lived.'
were always uneasy with the
religion, his followers
ancient
in
deity they so loved and revered.
Mythological sources describe the god as both youthful and aged; foreign and Greek;
a civilized
god
who
presided over the arts of theater, music, and wine; and yet a wild
savage of a deity with the potential for exaggerated brutality.
assume any number of forms, some even
both masculine and feminine
articulated
and
bestial,
what ancient people believed was the
nature. Accepting this disparity, the
invoking Dionysos as
in his
human
Such paradoxes, only
^
traits.
of
many
guise, he exhibited
partially outlined here,
god's inherently contradictory
Greeks conceded to the
"polyeides" — "one
he could
Physically
deity's multiplicity
forms."^
His changeable physicality was not the only aspect of the god's identity that
Dionysos
difficult
to detect.
Greeks described him
elsewhere.
that the
Believing the deity to be impossible to pin
as present,
With so many
and yet
fleeting,
one hand concealing
aspect of a persona.
physical identity,
it
comes
represented
in
ancient art.
importance.'
—are
Bowdoin's
in
The
on the
suggests absence and presence, or
in
^
the antique world, Dionysos was the deity most often
If
images of
his
close associations
—
satyrs,
nymphs,
counted as Dionysian, the god assumes even greater
rich collection of ancient art
tion reaffirms the ubiquity of Dionysian
medium, from
no surprise
transient identity of the god,
terms more suited to so powerful a god, disappearance and epiphany.
maenads, and Silenus
as
and on the other representing some hidden
The mask simultaneously
Certifying his importance
down, the
theater, and in particular the mask, with Dionysos.
mask symbolically encapsulates the mutable and
made
disappearing only to reappear
guises and a nature so transitory,
Greeks associated
by
themes
is
in art,
no exception. This exhibi-
as seen in every imaginable
vases, sculpture, and architectural fragments, to textiles, coins, jewelry,
3
and household items. Furthermore, these objects affirm that
visual representations
of the god and his followers are often difficult to identify and interpret.
numerous
guises of Dionysos inspired
to identify the god and
his
entourage
ent nature of Dionysian imagery
is
pictures difficult at best.
like
piled in this exhibition illustrate this
god
that of the
multiple
make attempts
variant visual renderings, which
in
The
In this
way, the inher-
and the works com-
himself,
phenomenon. Here, the words
"pervasive, yet
elusive" describe not only the disposition of the god, but also the art objects in this
exhibition,
which aspire to represent such a complex
figure.
Even today—-long after the passing of antiquity— the influence of Dionysos remains
potent. Additional objects
has remained active
porary
in
in this
exhibition demonstrate that this
From
the artistic imagination.
once divine
early Christian art to
figure
contem-
Dionysian imagery flows from a consistent intellectual engagement with
art,
many
the ancient god, and this engagement has yielded
different understandings of the
who
figure
over time. This most complex figure has become a multivalent symbol
easily
be used to explore those fundaments of our human existence with which
we
Dionysos can be associated with eroticism, desire, and
struggle.
temporary escape through ecstasy and
sexuality; with
mysterious ways of the
carnival; with the
natural world; with death and salvation in the afterlife; and with art
itself.
images reveal, Dionysos remains a pervasive cultural icon, and yet
garnering
new meanings and
associations
in
The
many
and
sources should not be read as mere
moments
they are representative of the numerous ways that cult
He was and
god.
Romans
remains well
known
—
Bacchus,
elusive,
artists.
of artistic license;
pictured their
and the Greeks and
Latin
in
antique visual
in
members
as the deity of wine,
often invoked the god as Bakcheus
As these
Antiquity
in
interpretations of Dionysos's physical being found
literary
still
the imaginations of Western
Of Origins: Discovering Dionysos
can
—to
articulate the
god's dominion over this staple drink of the ancient diet. This name,
however, was only one of many epithets used to describe the god.
was
He
also invoked as Phallen (of the Phallus); like the mask, the phallus
was considered an important symbol of the god.
Dionysos was recognized as a
fertility deity, as
In
this
form,
the generative spark
in
resin, nectar,
semen, and even
water Although he was not the god of the underworld,
his role as a deity
life-giving fluids,
such as blood, sap, dew,
of the afterlife was increasingly important
believed to guard deceased souls as they
in late
made
Dionysos was
antiquity.
their
way from
this
world
to the next, a rather perilous journey metaphorically described by the
Greeks
ensure happiness
for which the
in
the
afterlife.
the high seas: partaking
in
was not the only watery journey
The Greeks
in
order to ensure safe
likened the act of imbibing to voyage
drama were
also seen
in
I
all
expressions to
I
Red-Figure Hydria with Dionysos
honor the god
under
Erotes,
on
connection with the god;
although they entertained, theatrical performances were above
and Entourage of Satyr, Maenads,
and Panther
Courtesy Photographic Services
©
river Styx
wine could bring pleasant escape, or destruction to the
overindulgent. So too music and
Hermes,
The
the dead had arrived, the god could
god was patron: seafarers invoked Dionysos
passage, as did wine-drinkers.
CATALOG NO.
Once
as "crossing the river Styx."
President and Fellows of
his
in
the context of his
aegis, the
importance
in
festival.^
popularity of Dionysos
With so many
so many disparate aspects of ancient
Myths about the god's origins also corroborate
mother Semele and
divine father Zeus,
constituencies tucked
no doubt derived from
his
place of
life.
his elusive nature.
Dionysos was twice born.
Son of mortal
When
the pregnant
Harvard College, Harvard
University
Semele was
killed in
Hera's jealous rage, Zeus recovered the unborn god and sewed
4
come
could
Once Zeus had borne
to term.
Hermes
so that the child
his thigh
the divine fetus into
the
infant
nymphs of Mt. Nysa; these
rustic
him,
together
delivered
v/ith
way
sprites
their male counterparts, the
satyrs, raised the god.
The wisest and
oldest
may be
in this
tutored him.
satyr, Silenus,
the
to
It
god became associated with
that the
who
these figures, part man, part horse,
are
frequent subjects for artists ancient through
modern.^
In
maenads were
These female
resented those Greek
satyrs,
members
also important
the god's retinue.
resisted
nymphs and
addition to
of
figures rep-
women who
initially
the god, and thus were driven to
what appears to be madness. The god supposedly "stung them with frenzies from their
homes" and forced them to dwell
the
in
mountains spending their days and nights
honoring the god
with
men and
Through these maenads, both
women
learned not only
dancing.'
ecstatic
how
to worship the
god, but also the importance of doing so.
There are many
elusive qualities.
comings and goings that underscore
stories of the god's
On
his
the one hand, Dionysos came to mainland Greece by way of
CATALOG NO,
Entourage of
which
Asia,
is
relayed by the eastern-looking countenance and
god sometimes assumed.
On
encountered Ariadne,
land
a
is
minor
his
©
who was
island of
deserted by her beloved Theseus.
bride with a
Upon meeting
crown of
stars.
Whether he came by
myths of Dionysos give expression to
point; rather, these
performance, and
sea or by
beliefs
about
art.
in
Antiquity
ancient times, mythology provided a
framework
for the
many
visual representa-
tions of the gods found in the extant archaeological record. Thus, out of this entan-
glement of narratives alluded to above, an iconography of Dionysos emerges that
convoluted as
it is
is
as
ambiguous.
Although archaeological evidence suggests that the origins of the Dionysian cult
date to the Bronze Age, the earliest figurative representations of the deity date to the
sixth century B.C.
this
Bowdoin's black-figure panel amphora
nascent type. Dionysos appears here clothed
gathering of
nymphs and
ripe grapes,
and with
commonly used
divine identity:
a
crown of
ivy.
in
his
satyrs.
right,
in antiquity.
(detail)
that the god
Picturing Dionysos
In
Maenads, Hermes,
Naxos
was on the Aegean
all, it
which were eternally celebrated and commemorated by ancient people through
ritual,
Satyr,
and Panther
Courtesy Photographic Services
the god's proclivity for dramatic appearances as well as his 'foreign-ness,' both of
myth,
Erotes,
came by way
the forlorn Minoan princess, Dionysos married Ariadne, and the god sealed their
union by bestowing
I
the other hand, myths explain that the god
of the sea into Greece; after
first
costume which the
I
Red-Figure Hydria with Dionysos and
In
his left
in
(cat. 2)
a chiton
is
a fine
example of
surrounded by a small
hand, the god holds a vine heavy with
he holds up a rhyton, a ceremonial drinking cup
Dionysos
is
depicted with important indications of
addition to the vine and the cup that he bears, he
Together with the grape
vine, ivy
5
is
his
bedecked with
was long associated with the god
for
President and Fellows of Harvard
College, Harvard University
numerous reasons about which one can
Whatever
speculate.
ivy's original
cance, Dionysos and his followers are frequently depicted donning
leaves,
and as such,
identity.
after the vase
was
a
tetradrachm
radically
over time, and
this coin.
latter,
ivy
some
this fluctuation
As seen on the
36) minted
(cat.
crown of
painted, the
Despite the relative constancy of
to
remains an important marker of Dionysian
vegetation
this
As seen on
is
more than
five
hundred years
remains a salient feature of the god.
ivy,
images of Dionysos alter
well illustrated by
comparing the amphora
attributes like
an image of a clean-shaven youth with a cascade
mane
of curls flowing about his neck has replaced the bearded god with a wild
seen on the former.
400 B.C.
(cat.
When shown
I),
I
signifi-
triangulated
its
in full
on
length, as
the god's youthful figure
is
a hydria
of hair
dated to around
often pictured
the nude
in
with merely an animal skin or scant cloak draped about him so as
to reveal a rather
but athletic, physique.
slight,
By and
large,
representations of the god dated before 425 B.C. almost
more
exclusively portray a
savage, wild-looking god.
years after 400 B.C., however, this
of Dionysos
becomes
more
the
In
gentrified image
increasingly popular"
These multiple aspects of Dionysos are important,
for they are an index of shifting conceptions about
the god and the nature of his
type of the
Bowdoin's amphora
about Dionysos's
that
the
The
cult.
earliest
(cat.
corroborates theories
2),
rustic origins.
Initially it is
was celebrated by the
deity
image
the bearded vine-bearer seen on
deity,
believed
folk
of
the countryside as a protector of the grape and
There
an overseer of the wine-making process.
evidence
that
his
followers
earliest
is
fashioned
makeshift sculptures of the god's likeness, which they
constructed out of
vase painters
first
wood and
vegetation. Thus,
when
endeavored to represent the god,
they probably looked to these prototypes, seeking to
convey the god's
utes,
rural significance
most notably
his
through
his attrib-
unkempt beard. That Dionysian
imagery was reserved at the onset for drinking vessels,
such as an amphora, underscores the idea that the god was
seen principally as a rustic god of wine. By the end of the
CATALOG NO,
Terra Cotta
century B.C., however, the youthful image of the god had overwhelm-
14
Mask of a
fifth
Satyr
ingly
supplanted the old god of the countryside. While one can
bearded god even
(cat.
I
I)
is
in late antiquity,
later tableaux rarely
effeminate
imagery This figure
in
later antiquity.
draw upon recognizable myths, and
the individual pictorial elements.
example: precisely what
images of the
is
rendered
longish locks and the elision of the genitals, but images of
grow considerably more
tifications of
find
the sensuous, youthful Dionysos seen on the hydria
largely representative of later Dionysian
somewhat womanly with
the god
still
this
The
group of figures
open-ended question since no
is
this
Furthermore, these
thwarts even basic iden-
hydria represented here
an ideal
intended to represent remains an
definitive identifications of the figures can
6
is
be made.'^
What
new image
precipitated this
Furthermore,
it is
unclear
why
of the deity remains a matter for consideration.
at this
time the beardless figure seemed a more effec-
tive interpretation of the
god than the former bearded one. Hypotheses have been
put forth that suggest
change
this
gious climate of late Classical and Hellenistic Greece.
the political and
in
likelihood
In all
combination of these and other unrevealed factors that engendered
Whatever the
was
documents
case, extant imagery
undoubtedly tailored to
a fluid one,
An image need not
that the
suit the
—most commonly
myth and
religion of
in
reli-
some
is
it
change.
this
Dionysos
ever changing needs of the
represent the god directly
resentations of his followers
many
the god's countenance was predicated upon
in
circumstances, from popular theatrical productions to changes
faithful.
order to evoke Dionysos. Repmaenads, and Silenus
satyrs,
—
register
the influence of the god not only through their bestial physiognomies and their unusual
dress (or undress), but also through their gestures, expressions, and general tem-
peraments, and thus conjure the god both for us and for the ancient viewer The satyrs
seen on an Etruscan kylix from the
with flowing equine
their hydria at a
century B.C. are
fifth
classic
examples
(cat. 10):
pointed ears, and squat faces, the two pictured here hold out
tails,
water fountain. Presumably they
and drink the concoction with pleasure.
In
mix the water with the wine,
will
addition to their appetite for wine, satyrs
are imagined to be sexually insatiable, and artists generally connote this overactive
They are often seen tracking nymphs and mae-
libido by accentuating their genitals.
unwanted sexual advances of
nads, the latter ordinarily rebuffing the
Lest satyrs be regarded exclusively as abhorrent beasts,
it
their stalkers.'''
should be noted that the
ancient peoples respected, and even worshipped, these figures for their wisdom, their
curiosity,
ward
in
and their invention.'^ The representation of a
Masks of these beasts were often used
off evil.
satyr's visage
ruins of the
temple complex
the
motif for
harm
in
gems
in this
(cat. 32):
world and
Unlike the nymphs
women
in
in
(cat. 5),
staff
Medma,
Italy,
found
its
a
wearer from
are nature sprites of fable, maenads are typical
homes and the
nature.
As pictured on
maenads
typically
a
limits of their city in
red-figure lekythos
wear leopard
signify
on
their
from the
say
fifth
raw
Under the sway
beasts,
flesh.
their
century B.C.
city,
of Dionysos,
which they would tear apart with
The maenad
possession of a wineskin, suggesting that she has been or
some sources
In
order to worship the
not only their separation from the
creatures.
feral
maenads were imagined to hunt woodland
their bare hands, and feast
Greek
skins over their chiton, and bear an ivy-topped
Both attributes
but also their metamorphosis into
an act which
as a
the next."
who
as a thyrsos.
the
widespread
every sense except that they have been driven "mad" by Dionysos.
known
in
where Dionysos was worshipped
perhaps such a face was intended to protect
in
"furor," they have fled their
god
at
(cat. 14)
So too the disembodied head of the satyr was
afterlife.
believed to
as architectural decorations, as
the case of the rich red-orange terra cotta mask of a satyr
protector
was
is
of the lekythos
is
also
in
about to enjoy the drink,
was prohibited to women of good
the inverted world created by Dionysos's presence, such activity
standing.
In
may have been
permissible, at least hypothetically.
The meaning and
maenads
function of satyrs and
On
very basic
as presented in
there must have been
difficult
to interpret.
satyrs'
lack of propriety for the ancient viewer; so
a
toward violence must have seemed
myth, performance, and art have yet
level,
terrifying.
more
7
too the maenadic
in
the
inclination
Yet these figures imagined through
significance
the social ideals upheld by civilized ancient
imagery remains
some humor
when considered
men and women. With
in
relation to
their wild, impul-
—
behavior,
sive
maenads are
and
satyrs
antithetical
Greek man or woman.
to the civilized
Some
have
posited that satyrs functioned as a means for cult
members
to explore an otherwise incomprehensible
"otherness"
—
albeit
from
a
comfortable distance
that characterizes Dionysos and his realm.
worshipping Dionysos required
In
theory,
followers to relin-
his
quish socially accepted behavior and norms, or at least
imagine doing so. To
some extent
satyrs and
maenads
functioned as safe projections of respectable Greek
down
male and female selves turned upside
by the
Experiencing alterity through the guise of the
god.
maenad was not an attempt to overthrow
satyr or
one might expect,
the
normative social
but
rather a
was
believed, ultimately reaffirmed that order."
order, as
with
confrontation
Dionysos was thus
riencing
act recklessly, but
was seen by
important part of preserving
the
Dionysian,
it
Expe-
no mere excuse to
members
cult
civic
as an
codes.
Of Rulers and the Deceased:
Dionysos in Late Antiquity and
The Middle Ages
As
century A.D., long after
as the seventh
late
had been established, the cult of
Christianity
Dionysos remained strong, despite Christian attempts
to eradicate pagan
This investment
faiths.
in
Dionysos
continued for numerous reasons. For example,
CATALOG NO.
37
Hendrik Goltzius, Racchus
Alexandrian empire, which centered
widespread, due
the god.
in
They were not the
the
part to the ruling Ptolemies
The dynasty went so
first
emperor
Great,
subsequently
Roman
far as to
monarchs to
of
Hellenistic
leadership."
Italian
who
claimed a close association with
assume the name of the
identify
his cult,
deity as an epithet.
themselves with Dionysos: Alexander
Greece, was
first
likened
to
the god, and
Notorious for
rulers and generals followed suit.
vanquish a people and enforce
the
in
the Nile region, the cult was particularly
in
his ability
to
Dionysos provided an analog for powerful
dukes of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-centuries would
later revive
this tradition of ruler cult."
Like the
Greeks and Romans,
this culture of
Ptolemaic Egypt, often referred to as
Coptic, looked to Dionysos for a promising existence
the
in
afterlife,
popularity of Dionysian themes on funerary textiles.
A
the collection of Harvard University featured
exhibition
context.
Here, the
artist has constituted
holding the thyrsos, Dionysos
presence.
still
now dons
in this
evidenced
in
the
fourth-century example from
was produced
in this
another novel image of the god: while
a halo, or nimbus,
which illuminates
his
For contemporary viewers, such an attribute instantly conjures images
of Christian saints and even Christ himself, and for this reason, this image was
long thought to be a representation of
The
some unnamed hero
thyrsos has proven the figure to be Dionysos, but
pings?
The answer to
would be considered
this
question
is
of the early church.
why then
in
Christian trap-
not a simple one. Although today such a halo
specific to Christian art, late antique artists
developed the nim-
bus to differentiate generally between divine figures and ordinary mortals. Nonethe-
8
Dionysian imagery was
less,
commonly used
Antique peoples recognized their god
allels
between the two
in
in
Christian contexts, and vice versa.
the new\y introduced Christ, and cited par-
deities, noting in particular their
shared association with wine
and their promise of salvation after death. Hence, early Christian monuments were
decorated with Dionysian themes; so too,
pictorial
conventions typically reserved for
Dionysian imagery were employed to represent Christ.^"
this textile
the god's protracted influence
pagan and Christian
in late antiquity,
unclear whether or not
It is
image intended to "Christianize" Dionysos, but
it
does provide a sense of
as well as the late antique mingling of
faiths.
Attitudes toward the god
in
the Middle Ages were by no means uniform. Because
of his association with wine, Dionysos
was
easily associated with sensuality
and indul-
gence; for a faith built on renunciation of the body such as Christianity, Dionysos was
easily perceived as
nant
is
this
depraved on account of
his
seemingly wanton
lifestyle.^'
So reso-
medieval image of the wine-loving god that the simplistic, morally charged
image of a drunk lecherous deity persists even today. While ancient cultures rarely
depicted the god as inebriated and never mentioned his
tures of the west have to
ly
some degree never shed
indulgent Dionysos conjured
Of Art: Dionysos
Why
is
in
in
misconceived image of an over-
Renaissance and Baroque Art
Bacchus always a boy with long flowing
all
his
life
at
hair?
Surely because he's irre-
banquets and dances, singing and rev-
so far from asking to be thought wise that he's happy to be wor-
shipped with merriment and
Erasmus's
the Christianized cul-
medieval times.
sponsible and drunk, and spends
eling... in fact he's
this
libido,
fun.''
Erasmus, The Praise of Folly, 1511
generalization of Bacchus's visage as an
ephebe
is
contradictory
when
CATALOG NO.
posed against the archaeological record of ancient Greece and Rome, but
indeed
this
summation
is
indicative of the philosopher's
own
cultural context.
In
the
Renaissance, images of Bacchus generally take a singular form that resembles late
46
Jean-Honore Fragonard,
Bacchanale (The Satyr
Family)
antique images of the god: with either a rotund or
god bears
his
Erasmus
wine cup or
noted
bunch of
a
connection
his
Images of satyrs
most cases
are considerably sweeter and
That Dionysos
admonition
satyrs
more
passive.
Bacchus
jolly
the
effects
ill
in a
mule brays
state of intoxication. His
burdensome
figure of Silenus.
The humor
in relief
in this
as his
is
with
gluttony,
licentious
followers are
his
Bowdoin's
in
Here the very
collection (cat. 52) featuring a drunken Silenus.
the
part a
ultimate
such
bronze medal of 1600
the Greeks upheld as the tutor of their most revered god
lift
of
Images of an overindulgent god and
commonplace, exemplified
the
as
and
overindulgence
against
some
in
Popular Christian belief
beliefs.
of
representing
also
behavior
image
an
their violent dispositions
and drunk was
lusty
is
continuation of medieval
sustained
increased corpulence that
Maenads and nymphs continue to
suggests intemperance.
in
merry-making.
carefree
more wanton Dionysos, with
parallel this
appear, although
ripe grapes, suggesting as
to
Silenus often depicted with an
compromised
physique, the god
lithe
featured with longish locks and a clean-shaven face. Often the
is
figure that
depicted
in
a
most
accompanying satyrs
tableau does not detract from
the moralizing message warning against such slovenly actions.
Although
might seem that Erasmus
it
is
attempting to create a picture of an intem-
more
perate Bacchus, the author's objectives are
words to
Folly,
whom
he uses as a clever persona
ambitious.
Erasmus feeds these
order to critique establishments
in
such as the church and the university. Though one might assume her
wisdom
in
sort of alternative sagacity
—
ironically exhibits
embodied
her
the
likes
interesting to neo-Platonists,
who
finds itself
in
elevated state of being.
sketch of these elite institutions.
satirical
a spiritual
a simpleton. Folly
wisdom found outside
of Dionysos."
This ironic
wisdom
—
Cleared of
a state
this
that
also proved
perceived Dionysos to be the embodiment of an
all
was
earthly concerns, the mind
liberated to
explore the complexities of the cosmos, and was increasingly receptive to
poetic inspiration
is
—
It
of formal studies
known
Working
as the furor Bacchicus.
milieu, elite Renaissance artists paid tribute to the
god
who
in
and
artistic
this
humanist
inspired their art by
depicting Dionysos and his entourage again and again. "
In his
impressive 1596 engraving Bacchus
(cat. 37),
Dutch
artist
Hendrik Goltzius
The
elaborates upon the significance of the god as a source of artistic inspiration.
half-length
portrait of the
and drinking cups,
is
one of
god framed
a series of
in
three
represent the goddesses Venus and Ceres.
aphorism from
antiquity,
a
roundel, decorated with satyr masks
effigies
of gods: the other
In this series,
two images
Goltzius evokes the famous
"Without Ceres and Bacchus Venus would
freeze," first
penned by Roman playwright Terence to suggest that without the pleasures of food
adage were popular amongst
and wine, love grows cold." Representations of
this
teenth- and seventeenth-century Netherlandish
artists,
performances of Terence's plays produced by
milieu fostered Goltzius's interest
he rendered
his
this
threesome
career Whatever
its initial
in
six-
part to the vernacular
local acting guilds of Haarlem.^'
This
representations of Bacchus,Venus, and Ceres, and
in
at
due
least
ten times within the
last
two decades
of
significance for the artist, the subject ultimately gained
personal importance for Goltzius.
In his last
of 1606, the artist included himself
in
portrayal of Bacchus, Ceres, and Venus
the tableau: with his drafting tools
10
in
hand.
Goltzius positions himself next to Venus's henchman, Cupid.
arrows to
as Eros uses his
employs
incite erotic love, the artist
drafting tools to incite his viewer to
fall in
love with his art."
image of Bacchus pictured here may represent a stage
lier
power
its
make
to
For Renaissance and Baroque
in
The
his
ear-
Goltzius's
homage to the
developing reinterpretation; here the engraver pays
pleasure of wine and
Just
viewers susceptible to
his
the appropriation
artists,
imagery clearly had multiple significances for both
artist
his art.
of Dionysian
and viewer,
of
all
which can not be addressed here. Generally speaking, the god's ancient role
as hero of the arts had special purchase for philosophers, writers, and artists
Nonetheless, as Renaissance and Baroque representations
of this time.
of
well
satyrs
sometimes
illustrate,
composite horse-men are commonplace
and Baroque
ly
art,
and
artists often pair
imagery
Dionysian
a
Renaissance
in
them
simply
is
Images of these
perfunctory appropriation of ancient forms.
traditional-
with nymphs and maenads. Deeper interpretations of
these images are plausible, but pictures of Dionysos's
entourage can also simply telegraph a fascination with
the aesthetic of antique sculptures, regardless of the
contexts or meanings. This prevalence
original ancient
of satyrs
in
drawings and prints not only reiterates the
pervasive quality of Dionysian imagery
life,
but also
grew even
ancient art and
the Renaissance obsession with
reifies
things antique.
in
stronger, with
undertaking
the
excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii.
forms of
"rational"
its
seems
was
of Greece,
How
'quiet grandeur.'
major
skewed
fetishized
as
perception
this
of the ancient celebration of the unpre-
light
in
of
Noting the
art and architecture, the culture
of antiquity, particularly
one of
all
the eighteenth century, this interest
In
dictable Dionysos!
Jean-Honore Fragonard's
Bacchanale
series of four etchings entitled
printed
(cat. 46), first
strates the idealized gloss
imposed over the cultures of
antiquities
made
in
Rome
in
about
1
demon-
763,
which eighteenth-century minds
Using sketches of
antiquity.
and
'
Herculaneum, Fragonard
in
imagines a courtship between a satyr and a nymph: the pairs
flirt,
dance,
kiss,
and bear children together
sentimental and even absurd
The overt
in
a
scenery, recall nostalgically the
which Dionysos, god of
strained relations
fertility,
between
artist
was
satyrs and
Classical-period art are dissolved
that
seems
originally associated.
relics of a
The
maenads that characterized
in this
seems to know that
untamed landscape with
this
is
sweet pastoral Arcadia.
nothing but a beau
Fragonard keeps the satyr and nymphs frozen
they were
way
eroticism of the scene, together with the dense, over
grown garden
Even the
in
comparison to ancient images
in
ideal:
stone, as though
golden age that never existed.
CATALOG NO
5
Red-Figure Lekythos
with
Maenad
in Flight
Of the Psyche: Dionysos in Romantic,
Modern, and Contemporary Art
prepared the way for
Romanticism
an interest
reconsidered
in
by
the occult and
a
new image
in irrationality,
nineteenth-century
of Dionysos. Refracted through
dominant images of antiquity were
philosophers,
most notable among them
Friedrich Nietzsche.
Nietzsche's lifelong engagement with ancient
indeed responsible
large part for the continued interest in
in
nineteenth- and twentieth-century
and used
Birth
this
knowledge
of Tragedy of 1872.
artists.
as the basis for
In this
rationality
and
will
so.
culture
The philosopher knew Greek tragedy
one of
it
how
—
cosmos
essentially stand-ins for
the Greeks attested to these
seemingly opposing impulses simultaneously. Roughly described, the Apollonian
is
one
the
in
which
human
ideals
and
illusions are
conceived as an escape from the
condition. Contrarily, the Dionysian
the limitations of these
illusions,
mode
The
as the art
at confronting the nature of the
Using Apollo and Dionysos
— Nietzsche described
is
well,
his earliest philosophical tracts.
text Nietzsche praised tragedy, positing
form that demonstrates the Greeks' acuity
and their courage to do
Greek
Dionysos exhibited by
two
mode
realities of
aids the individual in accepting
encouraging one to revel
in
the
human
condition.
This model has been largely influential for the visual arts, with a considerable
number
of modernists. Abstract Expressionists, and contemporary artists and critics citing
The
Birth
ofTragedy as integral to their work.
In
short, the philosopher transformed
the god from a Renaissance artistic icon into an artistic mode,
in
which
creativity
inspired by intuition and emotion.
Two major exponents
of modernism, Lovis Corinth and Pablo Picasso, display a
prolonged engagement with Dionysian imagery throughout their respective oeuvres,
and demonstrate
a
consciousness of Nietzschean theory.
12
In
his
Bacchantenzug
(Bacchic Procession) (cat. 58) dated to
1
92
Corinth depicts a group of maenadic types
,
1
dancing frenetically; by limiting their forms to silhouettes, the artist focuses the
viewer upon the energy which
expended
is
their corybantic
in
movements.
In
his
numerous bacchanal scenes, the painter and printmaker drew from Dionysian images
created by
predecessors
his
— Rubens and Bouguereau,
for
example
—
for inspiration.
Corinth revised their compositions and figures by imbuing them with a burlesque
quality so as to create wilder versions of earlier images."
a grand
himself with
predecessors.
created by Nicolas Poussin
of bacchanale
13, cat. 60).'°
(fig.
markedly more
is
he drew from a composition
Faunes
des
Fetes
More than
While
and coarse.
ribald
in
favor of a
new
content, this image evokes that
just in
of the composition.
fluid lines
originally
contrast to Poussin's, Picasso's style
In
Picasso renounces Poussin's refined naturalism
the organic shapes and
an effort to align
of European art, Picasso also adapted from his
tradition
his
In
In
It
retaining the images,
more fragmented
Dionysian
is
spirit
no longer
style.
through
sufficient
or
meaningful to represent the god as he looks; for both Picasso and Corinth, Dionysos
has
become
those more
significant of
instinctual, impulsive aspects of the psyche,
which can be conveyed more properly through
So too influenced by Nietzsche,
employ these ancient Dionysian
adopted
contemporary
work
Pipilotti
work so
politics
using
While modern
as to
of gender.
of this
limits
artists,
artists
style,
of Nietzsche's
Matthew
use Dionysian themes
Rist,
discussion
artistic
paradigm as a metaphor for our present cultural
this
For instance, two
circumstances.
their
types, albeit to novel ends.
pushing the
are
artists
mode,
Barney and
style.
of our post-modern age continue to
philosophy to explore and to invent an alternative
this
Dionysian
artists
in
open up discussions about the
Notoriously cryptic, Barney's
it,;
has been described as a dialogue pertaining to
the complex and contradictory nature of masculinas
ity
through
constructed
history,
religion,
American pop
ancient mythology.^'
sequence
images
of
Where
which
—
masculinity^
are
satyrs
culture, and
of
also
Barney orchestrates a
7,
in
discourses
triple-screen installation
In his
DRAWING RESTRAINT
narrative
the
play
typically
satyrs
the
—
archetypal
leading
shown
roles.
fruitlessly
chasing maenads, here Barney revises the image
now pursue one
unexpectedly: the satyrs
This twist on ancient imagery
may be
Barney to allude to same-sex desire
another.
a
way
in
for
familiar
terms and to locate that desire within the larger
CATALOG NO.
construct of masculinity."
The work
of Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist has also been described as an ongoing
about
conversation
femininity."
gender,
Although
in
concern
her
but
types
Rist's
ancient art as Barney's are,
may not be
her piece Ever
Is
glittering red
her oversized
maenad's
pumps
wand
thyrsos.
a
la
Dorothy
in
Oz,
is
the
construction
as deliberately appropriated
of
from
Over All, the parallels between the lead
female persona and an ancient Greek maenad are
and
60
Pablo Picasso, fetes des Faunes
Rist's
striking.
Donning
a blue party dress
persona destroys a parked car with
tipped with a giant blossom, which bears a likeness to the
Although separated by approximately 2500 years, these two female
personas do not merely look
alike,
they also project 'unruly' dispositions through acts
13
(Festival
of the Fauns)
of violence which they both perform with
some
By playing with
pleasure.
ironic
stereotypes about femininity,
Rist paro-
is
dying fears about the potential for female
sexuality to overturn the instituted social
orders
—
which might very well have
fears
engendered maenadic types
Or
place?
does the action
take place
All
in
the
in
Ever
Is
first
Over
an alternative order, an
in
order which might very well be described
Dionysian,
as
which emotion, desire,
in
expression, and impulse are valued over
and repression? The
rationality, restraint,
viewer must decide.
In
a similar vain, Nietzsche's Dionysian
mode
has inspired the artist Thomas Cor-
to think about the ailing relationship
nell
between our contemporary American
and
lifestyles
future hangs
environment, whose
the
Remember-
the balance.
in
role as a fertility god, he
ing the god's
proposes the Dionysian as a way for present
society
awareness,
ecological
Matthew Barney, DRAWING
will in
RESTRAINT
The
7,
1993.
Curl Track/Video
Still,
turn imbue our
spirituality.
delivers the infant
In his
moment
of Dionysos, Cornell represents the
Birth
Mercury
with a richer
lives
Production Peter Strietmann,
timeless myth with monumentalized everyday figures,
the land and with their fellow man.
is
myth
contemporary context, the
— Dionysos and
losophy
modern
itics,
More
He
who work
move which
progress.
in
when
the god
intersperses this
harmoniously with
By representing the god and
artist references
his
both the god and the phi-
the Dionysian, and thus reveals the ancient origins of this
Cornell makes Dionysos's role
artistic interest.
and philosophy
ancient story
increased
than just a social statement, Cornell's paint-
also important as an art historical directive.
in this
in
a
now
painting
Dionysos to the nymphs of Mt. Nysa.
Courtesy Barbara Gladstone
ing
adopt
to
viable,
in
twentieth-century
art, pol-
but also transparent.
Postscript
What
will
modern
come
of Dionysos and his entourage
what
art world has yet to transpire, yet
ciates will
Nor
obsolete any time soon.
fall
ancient or otherwise,
will
soon shed
its
in
is
the visual culture of the post-postis
it
not
likely
is
that he and his asso-
plausible that Dionysian imagery,
complexities. Both
in
terms of form and
sig-
nificance, questions of interpretation will continue to arise. Nonetheless, as this exhi-
bition hopefully demonstrates, these questions
to
know Dionysos and
his
entourage.
No
become
less
nagging once one
matter whether one interprets
comes
this figure
as a pagan god, a prototype for Christ, an ideal civic ruler, an inspired artist, or as a
philosophy of
life,
he remains perennially compelling and captivating.
vanquished the hearts and
Western
culture.
embodiment
of the
wine, theater, music,
the most cynical
spirits of his
Whether one
id,
among
ancient followers, he has invaded
believes
us,
much
and ecstatic possession to ease
in
its
life's
of
plight by offering
burdens."
Even to
the promises of this god are an alluring proposition.
14
he
him divine or believes him to be an
Dionysos comforts the human soul
festival,
Just as
.
FOOTNOTES
For a discussion of cults
1
in
Dionysos,"
the late antique,
Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity
(New
1997): 185-206.
2 Walter F Otto, Dionysus: Mytli and
12 Carpenter, "Beards,"
Cult, trans,
Palmer
B.
London: Cornell University Press,
(Ithaca and
York: Peter Smith Publishers, 1950).
with an introduction by Robert
The Masks of Dionysus, ed.
in
Thomas Carpenter and Christopher Faraone
including the cult of Dionysos, see Francis
Dionysian Imagery
in
the Beardless Dionysos"
in
Fifth-Century Athens,
1
in
00.
(Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1965);
Albert Henrichs, "Greek and
Roman Glimpses
of Dionysos,"
Houser, Dionysos and His
Modern
Fogg
(Ex. cat.,
13 Carpenter,
Circle:
Ancient through
Museum
of Art, Harvard
Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, 1979):
l-l
"On
The Masks of Dionysus, 203-206.
Caroline
in
14
On
Hedreen,
satyrs, see
S/7ens.
15 Frangois Lissarrague,"The
3
Otto, Dionysus,
4 Otto,"The
I
1
Satyrs,"
0.
God Who Comes,"
in
Maenads
79-85.
in
in
5 Otto, "The
Symbol of the Mask,"
Dionysus,
in
1
colm Brown,
Studies
(Washington,
DC:
1
6 For example, the god
World and Beyond,"
in
the History of Art
17 Lissarrague,
period. See Dionysian Imagery
of satyrs
in
54
997): 24-25.
The Masks of Dionysus, 220.
Boardman
On
I.
(Oxford:
Medieval Art,"
the prevalence
Satyrs," in
"The True Vine:
Coptic Textiles and Later
in
in Survival
of the Pagan Gods
(Ex. cat.. Bell Gallery, List
Guy M. Hedreen,
ancient art, see
Allen,
Dionysiac Imagery
Classical
et. al.
"The Wildness of
Heuck
18 Susan
Fifth-Centu-
in
Monographs on
Clarendon Press, 1997):
in
C. Mal-
the most often rep-
is
resented deity on fifth-century Attic pottery.
Archaeology, ed. John
Revivals, ed.
National Gallery of Art,
Thomas Carpenter estimates that the god himself appears on more than 900 vases from this
ry Athens, Oxford
Wildness of
Arcadia Ego; Satyrs and
the Ancient
Engraved Gems: Survivals and
86-9
1-12.
.,
The Masks of Dionysus, 215-220.
16 Martin Henig, "Et
Dionysus,
in
.
I.
Art Center, Brown
University, 1987): 3-4.
Myth
Silens in Archaic Black-Figure Vase-Painting:
and Performance (Ann Arbor: University of
19 Phyllis Pray Bober, "Appropriation Contexts:
Michigan Press, 1992), 1-12. See also Henrichs,
Decor, Furor Bacchicus, Convivium,"
"Greek and Roman Glimpses...,"
and
and His
in
Dionysos
and
Roman
7 Henrichs, "Greek and
Dionysus;
Interpreters, ed. Alina Payne,
Circle,
I
-
1
I
;
Glimpses,"
in
Antiquity
Anne
Rebekah Smick (Cambridge, U.K.
Kuttner, and
Circle, 6.
Dionysos and His
its
New York;
Cambridge University
Press,
2000): 233-234.
in
see also Otto,
W.K.C. Guthrie, "Dionysos,"
in
20 Allen, "The True Vine...,"
The
5-7.
Greeks and Their Gods (Boston: Beacon Press,
was furthered
21 This view
1955).
in
the late Middle
Ages. For examples from illuminated manu8 For an in-depth discussion of
became the companions
Hedreen,
S/Vens...,
how
satyrs
scripts,
of Dionysos, see
in
67-103.
see Andreas Emmerling-Skala, Bacchus
der Renaissance, Studien zur Kunstgeschichte
83 (Hildesheim, Zurich, and
New York; G.
Olms, 1994).
9 Euripides, The Bacchae, with an introduction,
translation,
and commentary by Richard
Seaford (Warminster, England: Aris
Ltd., 1996): lines
&
22 Erasmus,
32-33.
byA.H.T. Levi
1
10
Otto
offers
some
interesting musings
the subject, and even cites ancient belief
ivy's ability
I
Folly,
trans, by Betty
(New York;
Penguin Books,
993): 26.
on
23
in
Ibid.,
I7-I8,n
19.
to cure headaches. See Dionysus,
24 Bober. "Appropriation Contexts...," 232.
152-157.
I
Praise of
Radice,with an introduction and notes
Phillips
For an interesting discussion of
ing imagery, see
this
Carpenter, "Beards,"
Dionysian Imagery
in
25 Lawrence W. Nichols, "The 'Pen Works' of
chang-
Hendrick Goltzius,"
in
Museum
Fifth-Century Athens. 85-103.
See also Carpenter, "On the Beardless
15
Bulletin
of the Philadelphia
of Art 88 (373-74). 36.
FOR FURTHER READING
26
Julie
lem,
1
McGee.
Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haar-
562-1 638: patrons,
Humanists,
friends,
Bibliotheca humanistica
In
(Nieuwkoop:
torica Series
De
Bober, Phyllis Pray. "Appropriation Contexts:
and Dutch
&
Decor, Furor Bacchlcus, Convivium." Antiquity
and
reforma-
Its
Interpreters.
Kuttner, and
Graaf, 1991), 104.
New York,
27 Walter
S.
Mellon, "Love and Artisanship
Anne
Ed. Alina Payne,
Rebekah Smick. Cambridge,
U.K.;
NY, USA: Cambridge University
Press, 2000: 229-243.
In
Hendrick Goltzius's Venus, Bacchus, and Ceres of
1
606," Art History
1
6
),
(
Carpenter, Thomas, and Faraone, Christopher,
69,
I
Masks of Dionysus. From Myth and
ed.
28 Friedrlch Nietzsche, The
Birth ofTragedy,
Gregory Nagy.
Ed.
1872. For a helpful Interpretation, see Martha
Ithaca,
Poetics.
NY: Cornell
University Press, 1993.
C. Nussbaum, "The Transfigurations of Intoxication: Nietzsche,
in
Schopenhauer, and Dionysus"
Studies
Kemal and
Ivan Gaskell
(Cambridge and
in
Archaic Greek Art.
Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology.
Ed.
Bernard Ashmole, John Boardman, and
Philosophy and the Arts, ed. Sallm
in
Dionysian Imagery
.
Nietzsche, Philosophy, and the Arts, Cambridge
New
Martin Robertson. Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon
York: Cannbridge University Press, 1998): 36-69.
Press, 1986.
29 Horst Uhr, Lows Corinth (Berkeley and Los
Dionysian Imagery
.
in
Fifth-Century Athens.
Angeles: University of California Press, 1990):
Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology.
95-99.
John Boardman,
Ed.
Oxford, U.K.:
et. al.
Clarendon Press, 1997.
30 Houser, Dionysos and His
Circle.
See also Elizabeth Cowling, On
Picasso, Leger,
1910-1930
de
Chirico,
.
.,
94- 00.
1
Guthrie, W.K.C. "Dionysos"
Classic Ground:
and the new
(Ex. cat.,Tate Gallery,
classicism,
Gods.
their
Hedreen, Guy.
painting.
"Matthew Barney,"
bound: Passages from the 90s (Ex.
The Greeks and
1
955.
London,
1990).
31 Paola MorsianI,
In
Boston: Beacon Press,
cat.,
in
Si/ens in Attic Black-figure Vase-
Ann Arbor:The
University of Michigan
Press, 1992.
Out-
Contenn-
porary Arts Museum, Houston, 2000): 22-27.
.
"Silens,
Nymphs, and Maenads."
of Hellenic Studies 64
(
1
Journal
994): 47-69.
32 Helaine Posner, "The Masculine Masquerade:
Masculininty Represented
in
Recent Art,"
Henrichs, Albert. "Greek and
in
The Masculine Masquerade, ed. Andrew Perchuk
and Helaine Posner
(Ex. cat.
MIT
of Dionysos."
In
Roman Glimpses
Dionysos and His
Circle.
See "Houser, Caroline" below.
List Visual
Arts Center, Cambridge, MA, 1995): 27-28.
"Loss of
.
33 For
a
recent discussion of
RIst's
Modern View
work, see
Jane Harris, "Psychedelic, Baby: An Interview
with
Pipilotti RIst," Art journal
59
(4),
34 Thanks to Tom Cornell for meeting with
to discuss
his
work and
Girard."
88
68-79.
me
(1
Self, Suffering, Violence:
Harvard Studies
in Classical Philology
984): 205-240.
Houser, Caroline. Dionysos and His
to share his insights on
The
of Dionysus from Nietzsche to
With
Circle.
an essay by Albert Henrichs (See Henrichs,
Albert above). (Ex.
Dionysos.
cat.,
Fogg
Museum
of Art,
Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge,
MA
35 Jean-Pierre Vernant, "The Masked Dionysus
of Euripides's Bacchae,"
In
Myth andTragedy
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Birth ofTragedy
Ancient Greece, ed. Jean-Pierre Vernant and
Pierre Vidal-Niquet, trans. Janet Lloyd
York:
Zone Books,
1
988): 4
1
1977).
in
(New
6os/c Writings of Nietzsche. Translated
ed by Walter Kaufmann.
I.
The Modern
and
in
edit-
New York:
Library, 1992.
Otto, Walter Dionysus. Translated by Robert
B.
Palmer Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1965.
Simon,
Erika. "Festivals of Dionysos."
of Attica:
An
Festivals
Archaeological Commentary.
Madison, Wl: University of Wisconsin Press,
1983.
16
1
WORKS
IN
Works are
the
in
THE EXHIBITION
permanent
Museum
Bowdoin College
collection
Manner
Greek
are indicated as height by width; where appropri-
depth
ate,
provided as the third
is
measurement
(
Warren, h
art are the gifts of
6 7/16 x 2 7/16 inches)
Edward Perry
6.
not include handles. The
medium
and pottery fragments
terra cotta.
is
Reclining Satyr
red-figure squat oinochoe. Workshop of
diameter measurements are labeled, and do
tery,
Philadelphia
for all pottery
Greek
Pottery
.
16 X 20.6 cm. (diam.) (6
1/4x8
7.
Satyr Chasing
Greek
Return of Hephaistos
I
Dionysos with
Nymphs
black-figure panel
amphora, The Painter of
(1
I
1
.4
cm
1/16 X 9/16 inches)
tv^o: 4.
1
x 5.2 x
cm.
.9
5/8 x 2 1/16 X 3/8 inches)
19
(Attic),
5.
1
1
7.2
from Cerveteri,
550 B.C.
31.8x21 cm.
8.
Rom's Head Cup with Ivy-covered
Greek
9 5.44
1
1
(possibly Attic), circa
X 6.7 cm. (diam.)
0.1
(4
425-400 B.C.
1/8x2
1923.23
3.
Eye Cup with Warriors and Grape Vines
black-figure kylix
Greek
circa
II. 2
4.
(Attic),
9.
from Cerveteri,
Child with Cart
and Drinking Cup
red-figure toy
oinochoe
530-520 B.C.
Greek
X 27.3 cm. (diam.)
7.2
X
(Attic), circa
13/16x2 9/16
(2
1913.7
1915.38
Dancing Maenads
circa
(Attic),
red-figure kylix
(I
Etruscan, circa 420-400 B.C.
from Cerveteri,
I
520-510 B.C.
Fragment
I:
inches)
*I0. Pair of Satyrs
a red-figure cup.
Manner of Skythes
Greek
425 B.C.
6.5 cm. (diam.)
(4 7/16 X 10 3/4 inches)
two fragments from
13/16 x 2 7/16 x 3/8 inches
2:
4 1/16 X 3/8 inches)
.3
cm. X 24.9 cm. (diam.)
7/16x9
1923.4
1913. 17.1
(2 1/16 X
1
(4
4.6 x 6.2 x .9 cm.
Fragment
Lip
red-figure rhyton
(diam.)
(12 1/2 X 8 1/4 inches)
1
450-440 B.C.
1915. 17.1
Berlin 1686
circa
7/8x3
Fragment
Satyrs
Greek
(Attic), circa
Fragment one: 4.8 x 9.7 x
3.
(I
and
of a red-figure squat
oinochoe, The Euaion Painter
Karl Lott Rankin, h I960
*2.
Maenad
two fragments
1/8 inches)
Honorable
Gift of the
1
x 3 1/8 inches)
(2 7/8
Kylix
Mycenaean, 1350-1300 B.C.
977.
460-450 B.C.
1930.2
Geometric
1
2272
(Attic), circa
X 7.9 cm. (diam.)
7.3
I
475-450 B.C.
1913.12
926, unless otherwise noted. For pot-
1
of the Ikaros Painter
(Attic), circa
16.35 X 6.19 cm. (diam.)
Ancient Art
Works of ancient
in Flight
red-figure lekythos.
Dimensions
Starred works are illustrated.
noted.
Maenad
*5.
of the
of Art unless otherwise
5.2 x 10.3 x 9 cm.
I9I3.I7.2
17
13/16 inches)
5/8 inches)
8
1
*l
I
Dionysos and Entourage of Satyr, Maenads,
.
1
8.
Mask of Silenus
Bronze
Hermes, Erotes and Panther
Greek, from Ancona, Hellenistic period
red-figure hydria,
(third
Manner
12.2x7.5 x4.l cm.
Greek
of the Meidias Painter
(Attic), circa
400-390 B.C.
35.6 X 24.7 cm. (diam.)
first
century B.C.)
13/16x2
(4
15/16 x
5/8 inches)
I
(14 x 9.7 inches)
through
1915.50
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University
Art Museums
1
9.
Bequest of David M. Robinson
Mask of a Young
Terra Cotta
16.5x20.5x8.9 cm.
2.
1
Scene with a Sea God, Maenads, and Satyrs
stamnos,The
red-figure
(6
1/2x8
1/16 x
1/2 inches)
3
Group
Fluid
Satyr (antefix)
Greek, third or second century B.C.
1913.42
Etruscan, from Cerveteri, circa 375 B.C.
32.2 X 26.8 cm. (diam.)
(12
I
1/16 x
20.
10 9/16 inches)
Terra Cotta Sculpture of a Flute Player in
Dionysian Costume
1913.9
Greek, from Myrina, second or
first
century B.C.
13.
Pair
of Dancing Maenads
32.8 x 10.2 X 14.4 cm. (l2
lekythos with applied clay relief
Greek
5
350-325 B.C.
(Attic), circa
1
I
7/8x4x
1/16 inches)
908.
1
7.9 X 7 cm. (diam.)
1
(7
1/16x2
3/4 inches)
21.
1915.40
Clay Vessel (Drug Dispenser?) with a Satyr
Sleeping on a Wineskin
Roman, from Tarentum, second or
Sculpture, Household Items,
century B.C.
AND Architecture
5.5
Mask of a Satyr (anteftx)
South Italian, from Medma,
*I4. Terra Cotta
circa
1913.
1
7.5 x II
.
I
cm. (8 7/8 x 6 7/8 x
22. Bronze Vessel Attachment with Priapus(?)
Figure
Roman,
1913.43
I
I
Terra Cotta Votive of Flute-Playing Silenus
(4
1915.37
(Boeotian?), from South
Italy,
cm.
(4x23/8x1
1/4 inches)
23.
5/16 X
I
7/8 X 13/16 inches)
Terra Cotta Fragment of a
Sima with Head
of Silenus
Roman,
15
6.
century B.C.
450 B.C.
10.2 X 6 X 3.2
1930.84
1
first
X 4.8 X 2 cm.
Greek
circa
X 3.3 cm. (2 3/16 X 4 5/16 X
I
500-475 B.C.
22.54 X
5.
I
5/16 inches)
I
4 3/8 inches)
1
X
first
first
century B.C.
X 2 X 7.5 cm.
Terra Cotta Sculpture of a Satyr Holding the
(5 7/8
Infant Dionysos
1913.46
x 6 5/8 x 2 15/16 inches)
Greek, Hellenistic period (third through
first
1
7.5
century B.C.)
24.
x 6.5 X 5.9 cm.
(6 7/8 x 2 9/ 6
1
x
Terra Cotta Fragment of an Arretine
Roman, from Arezzo,
2 5/16 inches)
1923.12
late first
century B.C.
6.7 x 4.8 cm. (2 5/8 x
1
7.
Terra Cotta Bacchic
Mask
1915.32
Greek, from Cyprus, Hellenistic period
(third
18.3
through
first
century B.C.)
X 16.5 X 6.5 cm. (7 3/16 x 6
1/2
x
2 15/16 inches)
Gift of
Moid
with a Silen Playing Double Flutes
Mr Dana
C. Estes, h
1
898
1902.44
18
I
7/8 inches)
25.
Terra Cotta Fragment of a
Revetment Plaque
''32.
Mask of Dionysos
Roman, first century A.D.
1
x 7 5/16 x 2 3/8 inches)
2.
Fragment of Cresting with Satyrs
Terra Cotta
33.
cm.
century A.D.
first
Gem
second century A.D. or
later
Greel<,
with
setting)
2.4 x 2.1 X 1.4 cm. (15/16 X 13/16 x
9/16 inches)
1/4 inches)
1915.87
1913.29
Coins
27. Bronze Sculpture of a Dancing Satyr
Greco-Roman,
1.8
century A.D.
first
Listed coins are bequests of h-lenry Johnson,
X 6.3 cm.
Class of 1874.
x 4 5/8 x 2 1/2 inches)
(8 7/16
1930.215
34.
Bronze Furniture Support with
Herm
S//ver Stater
ofThasos, Thrace
OB: Naked
ithyphallic satyr with
struggling
of
nymph
RV: Quadripartite incuse square
Silenus
Roman,
first
or second century A.D.
Greek, sixth or
13.2 x 2.2 x 1.6 cm.
cm.(diam.)
2.1
century B.C.
fifth
(13/16 inches)
I9I9.58.40D
3/16 X 7/8 X 5/8 inches)
(5
.6
X 13/16x5/8 inches)
Satyr
Roman,
I
1
Mask of a
(modern
21.4 X
X
Chalcedony
Treading Grapes
I
Ring
or second century A.D.
first
1
Cameo
of Silenus
1923.1 15
25 X 27 X 3.2 cm. (9 13/16 x 10 5/8 x
28.
X
.6
(5 3/16
1913.47
26.
Mask
Roman,
17.8 X 18.5 X 6 cm.
(7
Gold Sardonyx
with
with
1923.38
35.
29. Fragment of a Marble
Copy
offer
The Leaning
Bronze Coin of Bithynia
OB: Head
Greco-Roman,
after Praxiteles, first
Greek, 183-149 B.C.
or sec-
ond century A.D.
2.1
79.3 x 63.4 x 35.5 cm.
19 19.58.
cm. (diam.)
1
*36. Silver Tetradrachm ofThasos
1923.1 10
OB: Head
30.
Band
RV:
Naked Heracles
Greek, 146-46 B.C.
century A.D.
wool and
of young Dionysos with band
across forehead and ivy wreath
with Dionysos/Bacchus
Coptic textile fragment,
fifth
(13/16 inches)
6a
X 25 15/16 X 14 inches)
1/4
(31
of Dionysos
RV: Centaur Cheiron with lyre
Satyr
cm. (diam.)
3.5
linen
48 x 9 cm. (18.9 x
(I
3/8 inches)
19 9.58.39a
3.5 inches)
1
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard Art Museums
Gift of
Mr Denman W.
Sixteenth-, Seventeenth-,
Ross
and
Eighteenth-Century Art
Jewelry
3
I
.
Cornelian
Gem
with
Maenad and
Paintings and
Silenus
Greek, Hellenistic period
(third
I
.
I
I
x
through
1
.3
x
.3
first
Paper
Dutch, 1558-1617
century B.C.)
cm.
(7/16x1/2x1/8
Works on
*37. Hendrik Goltzius
Bacchus, 1596
etching on paper
inches)
24.8 X 18.2 cm. (9 3/4 x 7 1/8 inches)
1915.103
Anonymous Loan
19
38. Attributed to
Italian.
Giovanni Battista Viola
44. Italian, eighteenth century
1576-1622
Bacchus and Ariadne,
Landscape with Fountain and
pen and brown ink over
32.9 X 24.9 cm.
black chalk on paper
(12 15/16 X 9 13/16 inches)
27.9 X 42.6 cm.
Museum
Fund,
in
(I
I
in
x 16 3/4 inches)
Bequest of Charles Potter Kling
I935.902d
purchase, James Phinney Baxter
memory
of
Professor Henry Johnson
1932.1
of the
graphite and ink wash on paper
1600
Figures, after
first half
eighteenth century
45.
Italian,
eighteenth century
Head of a
I
Satyr
black chalk and pen and
brown
39. Stefano della Bella
Italian,
1610-1664
The Satyr
Museum
mid-seventeenth century
Family,
ink
on paper
16.7 X 12.7 cm. (6
etching on paper
9/16x5
inches)
Purchase
1930.128
22.3 X 22.3 cm. (8 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches)
Anonymous Loan
*46.-49. Jean-Honore Fragonard
French, 1732-1806
40. Christoffel Jegher, after Peter Paul
Flemish,
I590M652
Drunken
Silenus,
Rubens
Bacchanale (The Satyr Family),
1759-1761
1630s
series of four etchings
woodcut on paper
13.5
45.4 X 33.8 cm.
Gift of Miss Susan
(17 7/8 X 13 5/16 inches)
1956.24.52.1-4
on paper
X 21 cm. (5 5/16 x 8
Dwight
1/4 inches)
Bliss
Anonymous Loan
Medals and Plaquettes
41. Cornells Schut
Works
I
Flemish, 597- 655
1
Allegory of Fruitfulness, late
I
I
1
1.8
of Amanda Marchesa
unless otherwise noted.
Ariadne on Naxos Medal,
sixteenth century
Honorable James Bowdoin
5.7 cm. (diam.) (2 1/4 inches)
III
1813.12
1967.25.6
Flemish, seventeenth century
51.
Bacchus, Nymphs, and Satyrs
black chalk
gifts
50. Italian, sixteenth century
X 149.9 cm. (44 x 59 inches)
Bequest of the
42.
below are
and are bronze
630s
on canvas
oil
listed
Molinari,
1
Flemish
Bacchanal Scene Medal, circa
on paper
13.1
cm. (diam.)
(5
600
1
3/16 inches)
1967.20.62
31.1 X 21.8 cm.
(12 1/4 X 8 9/16 inches)
*52.
Bequest of the
Honorable James Bowdoin
Flemish
Drunken
III
Silenus Medal, circa
1600
12 cm. (diam.) (4 3/4 inches)
181 1.53
1
967.
1
4.
1
I
43. French, seventeenth century
Nymphs and
53.
Satyrs
Masimiliano Soldani-Benzi
pen and brown ink with
Italian,
1656-1740
wash on paper
Portrait
of Francesco Redi Medal,
gray
8.3
X 24.4 cm.
(3
1/4x9
OBV: Bust
5/8 inches)
Silenus with
Bequest of the
Honorable James Bowdoin
181
I.I
Maenads and Satyrs
8.7 cm. (diam.) (3 7/16 inches)
III
1966.126.4
17
20
1
684
of Redi; REV: Bacchus and
1
54.
*60. Pablo Picasso
French
Spanish, 1881-1973
Satyr Unveiling a Sleeping Bacchante
century
Plaquette, late eighteenth
bronze with
X 7.7 cm.
4.1
Fetes des Faunes,
(I
957
1
lithograph on paper
gilding
5/8x3
4
1/16 inches)
x 55.4 cm.
1
Museum
1967.20.96
(
1/8x21 13/16
6
1
inches)
Purchase
1958.47
Nineteenth- and
Twentieth Century Art
Ayrton
61. Michael
1921-1975
British,
Works on
Paintings and
55.
Paper
The Bacchae,
1
967
book with
lithographs
Frederic Villot
printed
French. 1809-1875
page: 3 .7 x 22.9 cm.
Figure of a Bacchante,
Special Collections
mid-nineteenth century
Bowdoin College Library
1
(
&
1
2
1/2x9
inches)
Archives,
etching on paper
I
1.9
11/6x4 5/16
X 10.9 cm. (4
Collection of David
P.
inches)
62.
Thomas
Cornell
B.
American,
Becker,
b.
1
937
Maenads Dancing, 1975
Class of 1970
etching and drypoint
56.
Charles Daubigny
39.4 x 50.1 cm. (15 l/2x 19 3/4 inches)
French, 1817-1878
Collection of the Artist
Le Satyre.
1
850
etching on paper
3
1
.4
X
1
2.4 cm.
Gift of David
P.
(
63.
1
Becker, Class of
1
Thomas
970
Cornell
B.
American,
2 3/8 x 4 7/8 inches)
b.
1
937
Dionysos, 1977
etching with mechanical tool
1994.10.133
cm. (8 3/4 x 5 7/8 inches)
22.2. X 14.9
57. John Sloan
Collection of the Artist
American,l87l-I95l
Mars and Bacchante, 1915
64.
etching on paper
II
X
The
Bequest of George Otis Hamlin
oil
1961.69.140
92.
Cornell
B.
American,
cm. (4 5/16 x 5 15/16 inches)
15.1
Thomas
b.
1
937
Birth of Dionysos, in
progress
on canvas
1
X 96.5 cm. (36
/4
I
x 38 inches)
Collection of the Artist
*58. Lovis Corinth
Sculpture and Decorative Arts
German, 1858-1925
Bacchantenzug (Bacchic Procession),
92
65.
European or American, nineteenth century
etching and drypoint on paper
Infant Dionysos,
22.9 X 28.7 cm. (9 X
Parianware sculpture
Museum
59.
1
II
5/16 inches)
Purchase with aid from the
I
1.6
1
880s
X 5.9 X 8.4 cm.
Helen Johnson Chase Fund
(4 9/16
1972.53.3
Anonymous Loan
Hans
66. Italian, eighteenth or nineteenth century
Erni
Swiss,
b.
1907
Bacchus auxVignes,
n.d.
etching and aquatint on black paper
48.
1
X 59.4 cm.
x 2 5/16 x 3 5/16 inches)
(
1
Anonymous Loan
8
1
5/
1
6 x 23 3/8 inches)
Cameo
with
carved
shell
4.4 x 4.
(I
3/4 X
x
1
I
The
.5
Birth
of Dionysos
cm.
5/8x3/16
inches)
Gift of the Misses Harriet Sarah
Mary Sophia Walker
1895.36
and
BOWDOIN COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART
BRUNSWICK, MAINE