1592
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Bacchus is a 1592 ink by Hendrik Goltzius, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a muscular, bare-chested man with a wreath of leaves on his head. He holds a bunch of grapes in one hand and leans on a staff with a vine wrapped around it. Around him, smaller figures—some winged—float in the background, while a basket of fruit sits at his feet. The scene looks like it’s framed by an ornate doorway with pillars. Notice how the artist used fine, crisscrossed lines to create shadows and texture—this is called *cross-hatching*. The word *BACCHUS* is written at the top, hinting at who this figure might be. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists build depth with just lines.
Hendrick Goltzius (German: , Dutch: ; né Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter.
See the richer artist page
![The Farnese Hercules, front view [plate 2]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/cedb2cb031c3391b/thumb.webp)
![The Farnese Hercules, three-quarter view turned to left [plate 3]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/b0564bebaad016fa/thumb.webp)
