Artwork
The Rule of Bacchus [left panel]
![The Rule of Bacchus [left panel], oil, 1535](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/the-rule-of-bacchus-left-panel--5f2819b3a3b6a2cc-w1024.webp)
The Rule of Bacchus [left panel] is an oil painting. It dates from 1535 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:across top: [H]VI [S]ANAS MEN[T]ES FE[BRIS] / QVVM BACCHIC[A] / TVRBAT (Woe, when Bacchic fever confuses sound minds)
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting’s iconography, rooted in the attributes of the god, communicates the symbolic potency of mythic narratives in visual art.
The Rule of Bacchus [left panel] depicts the Roman deity Bacchus, as suggested by its title, within a mythological scene. The work is classified as a mythological painting, a genre that in the Renaissance often illustrated stories from classical mythology to explore themes of nature, celebration, and divine power.
Its representation of Bacchus would have resonated with contemporary audiences as an emblem of wine, fertility, and ecstatic transformation, reflecting the broader cultural revival of antiquity that characterized the period. The painting’s iconography, rooted in the attributes of the god, communicates the symbolic potency of mythic narratives in visual art.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on a support that was originally a panel before being transferred to hardboard. Its small dimensions, approximately 39 by 15.9 cm, indicate an intimate, portable format typical of certain Northern Renaissance cabinet pictures. The medium of oil paint allows for the detailed rendering and luminous effects characteristic of German painting in the early sixteenth century. The work's compact vertical format suggests careful, precise handling suited to mythological narrative.
Stylistically, the painting belongs to the tradition of German art from the transition between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a period associated with artists such as Albrecht Altdorfer, to whom it has sometimes been attributed. The mythological subject of Bacchus places it within the Renaissance interest in classical themes, filtered through a Northern European sensibility.
History & Provenance
The Rule of Bacchus [left panel] was created in 1535, as consistently documented in provenance records and scholarly attributions. Its earliest recorded owner was Professor Wieser of Innsbruck, who possessed the work by 1891. By the early 20th century, it passed to Lacher von Eisack in Bad Tölz, Oberbayern, and subsequently through the Berlin dealer Paul Cassirer.
Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza acquired the panel by 1930, housing it at Schloss Rohoncz, Hungary, and later at Villa Favorita in Lugano-Castagnola, Switzerland. After his death in 1947, ownership transferred to his son, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza. In 1950, the work was sold to M. Knoedler & Co., New York, and purchased in February 1951 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
The panel entered the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., as a gift from the Kress Foundation in 1952.
The left panel of The Rule of Bacchus is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., specifically within the Samuel H. Kress Collection. The work entered the gallery as a gift from the Kress Foundation in 1952, following its acquisition by the foundation in February 1951 from M. Knoedler & Co. of New York. Prior to its arrival in the United States, the painting was part of the Schloss Rohoncz and Villa Favorita holdings of Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza by 1930.
The gallery's accession number for the piece is 1952.5.31.a-c. While the provenance details its movement through European collections, including ownership by Professor Wieser in Innsbruck by 1891, the sources do not list specific exhibition histories for this panel.
Overview
Titled "The Rule of Bacchus [left panel]," this oil painting was originally created on a wooden panel before being transferred to hardboard. The artwork presents a dynamic and intricate composition, characteristic of its genre. It captures a moment of collective celebration, inviting viewers to engage with its richly detailed narrative and lively depiction.
![The Rule of Mars [right panel]](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/the-rule-of-mars-right-panel--afd0659cfadc13d5-w320.webp)
Artist & collection
