Silenus Accompanied by a Satyr and a Faun

1630

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Silenus Accompanied by a Satyr and a Faun is a 1630 by Christoffel Jegher, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Christoffel Jegher
When & what style?: 1630 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

A fat, drunk old man stumbles forward, barely standing. Two wild, part-animal figures hold him up. One is a satyr with horns and goat legs; the other, a faun with pointed ears, grins behind him. The old man is Silenus, teacher of the wine god Bacchus. He’s shown here as a comic drunk, but in older myths, he was wise. Artists in Flanders liked this mix of humor and meaning. The scene feels wild, but the figures are carved with care. This print was made in Antwerp, a busy art city in Flanders.

The story of this work

Overview

Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens made several images of Bacchus and his teacher, Silenus. Silenus’s incessant overindulgence in wine presented comic possibilities, as seen here, where he walks naked in a stupor with the support of two others. Some artists, including Rubens, were attracted to Silenus for his embodiment of the intuitive and sensual parts of human nature, qualities essential to creativity. Art historians have argued that Rubens’s images of Silenus are indirect self-portraits expressing the artist’s search for creative inspiration and spiritual insight while inhabiting a highly…

Read the full account in the museum source.