The Bacchanal
1510
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1510
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Bacchanal is a 1510 by Daniel Hopfer, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a wild party: gods and people dancing, drinking, and stumbling under leafy vines. A man with a horn overflowing with fruit stands steady while everyone else sways. This print copies an earlier Italian engraving by Andrea Mantegna. Hopfer was one of the first German artists to use metal plates for prints instead of wood blocks. The tiny lines hold ink and press onto paper, letting him sell many copies of the same scene. Look up *sfumato* to see how Italian artists softened edges like smoke.
