Artwork Page for Silenus

Details / Information for Silenus

Silenus

1628

Jusepe de Ribera

(Spanish, 1591–1652)
Culture
Spain
Medium
etching
Measurements
Sheet: 27 x 35 cm (10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1966.123
Catalogue raisonné
Salamon 16A
State
II/II
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Corpulent bodies were often used in early modern art to symbolize laziness, overindulgence, and moral corruption.

Description

Before a large wine barrel, Silenus (Bacchus’s teacher) lies inebriated on the ground as he raises his cup to receive wine from a satyr in this print. Jusepe de Ribera included these and other details indicating that the scene was intended to be humorous. Two infants mimic Silenus, and a braying donkey adds to the chaotic setting. Pan, patron of shepherds, with his pipe and staff at his feet, crowns Silenus with grapevines. A satyr and a maenad, at upper left, contribute music as well as sexual innuendo (implied by the placement of the satyr’s flute). Ribera drew inspiration from Andrea Mantegna’s bacchanalia image but he introduced more texture and sensuality to the subject matter through his rich etching technique.
A horizontally oriented print in black ink depicts a nude, plump man with light skin tone, lying on the ground in front of a barrel large enough he could fit inside. Two satyrs, muscular men with horse legs and ears, stand behind him, one holding grapes, the other a sack of wine over his shoulder. Silenus looks up, mouth open, and holds a cup into which the second satyr pours the wine.

Silenus

1628

Jusepe de Ribera

(Spanish, 1591–1652)
Spain

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