The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Arion on a Sea Horse and Bacchante on a Panther (pair)

Arion on a Sea Horse and Bacchante on a Panther (pair)

1855
(French, 1825–1905)
Framed: 87.3 x 127 x 5.4 cm (34 3/8 x 50 x 2 1/8 in.); Unframed: 71.3 x 111.8 cm (28 1/16 x 44 in.)

Description

These paintings are from a series of eight works that Bouguereau painted for a Parisian home decorated in the style inspired by ancient Roman wall paintings found at Pompeii. The ancient Greek poet Arion escaped pirates by fleeing on the back of a sea creature attracted by the poet's singing. In the companion picture, a bacchante, a female follower of the Roman god Bacchus, rides a panther and carries a pinecone-tipped spear called a thyrsus. The figures are silhouetted against a gold honeycomb–patterned background evoking ancient Roman mosaics Bouguereau had studied in Italy. The soft, waxy flesh tones and glimmering gold leaf were calculated to come to life when viewed under the mansion's gas lighting.
  • Commissioned by Anatole Bartholoni, Paris. Paris sale, Drouot, 27 April 1933 (lot 32), Arion chevauchant un monstre marin (lot 33), Bacchante sur une panthère (repr.), Shepherd Gallery, New York, 1972. Christopher Gibbs Ltd., London, 1973. London sale, Sotheby's, 30 November 1977 (lot 208), Arion sur un dauphin; Bacchante sur une panthère (repr.), £6500. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland. Bequeathed to the CMA in 1980.
  • Weeda, Eddy, Joop Schaminée and Nils van Rooijen. Botanische meesterwerken: bij het 170-jarig bestaan van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Botanische Vereniging. 2016.
    Jullian, Philippe. "The Symbolists." Architectural Digest 31 (January/February 1975): 58-63. Reproduced: P. 59
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1980.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 68, no. 6 (June 1981): 163–219. Mentioned: P. 182, 211, nos. 27 & 28 www.jstor.org
    Wissman, Fronia E. Bouguereau. San Francisco: Pomegranate Artbooks, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 22-24, pls. 4 & 5
    Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 76-79, Vol. I, cat. nos. 29, 30
    Bartoli, Damien, and Frederick C. Ross. William Bouguereau. Woodbridge Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club in cooperation with the Art Renewal Center, 2010. Mentioned and reproduced: Vol. II, p. 41, nos. 1855/03A, 1855/03B
  • Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981).
  • {{cite web|title=Arion on a Sea Horse and Bacchante on a Panther (pair)|url=false|author=William Adolphe Bouguereau|year=1855|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1980.238