Artwork Page for The Bacchanal

Details / Information for The Bacchanal

The Bacchanal

c.1490–1536

Daniel Hopfer

(German, c. 1470–1536)

after Andrea Mantegna

(Italian, 1431–1506)
Culture
Germany
Medium
etching
Measurements
Platemark: 21.1 x 28.4 cm (8 5/16 x 11 3/16 in.); Sheet: 21.9 x 29.1 cm (8 5/8 x 11 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1925.620
Catalogue raisonné
Hollstein XV.86.57
State
II/II
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
101A Prints & Drawings
Print
?

Did You Know?

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, who was still widely read in the sixteenth century, wrote that wine could enhance creativity and even unlock divine ecstasy.

Description

Andrea Mantegna was among the first artists in Italy to produce engravings. His scene of a bacchanalia, a wine-fueled festival of ancient Rome, is composed as if on a shallow stage, attesting to Mantegna’s interest in relief-carved Roman sarcophagi (stone coffins). Standing with his horn of plenty, Bacchus is in control of his senses. The mortals around him falter from too much drink. When Mantegna began making engravings in the 1470s, he was among the first to use the technique to reproduce drawings. Many of Mantegna’s engravings show printing imperfections, the result of a shallowly carved printing plate and ink that did not adhere evenly to the paper. The later copy looks quite different. Daniel Hopfer employed the nimbler technique of etching and had access to higher-quality inks and papers.

The Bacchanal

c.1490–1536

Daniel Hopfer, Andrea Mantegna

(German, c. 1470–1536), (Italian, 1431–1506)
Germany

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.