Bacchanal with a Wine Vat
1475
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1475
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a wild party: satyrs, nymphs, and drunk mortals crowd around a giant wine vat. Bacchus, the god of wine, stands tall with his horn of plenty, looking sober while everyone else stumbles. Mantegna painted this like a Roman stone carving—flat, crowded, and full of tiny details. He was one of the first Italian artists to make engravings, and this scene feels like it could be printed, not just painted. To see more of this stiff, carved-up style, look up Andrea Mantegna (Italian, 1431–1506).
