Bacchus and Ariadne
1650
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1650
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
This print shows a wild scene with gods and animals tangled in a forest. A muscular man with a vine crown lifts a woman off the ground while a child clings to her leg. Around them, a tiger and a dog sniff at the chaos, and a tree looms over the group. The sky is stormy, with swirling clouds and a half-hidden face peeking through the branches. The artist packed lots of movement into tight lines and deep shadows, making the figures look dramatic and almost three-dimensional. The way light and dark clash gives the scene energy, like the figures are caught in the middle of action. Check out chiaroscuro to see how this strong contrast between light and dark works.
