The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Triumph of Bacchus

1580–1623

Johann Theodor de Bry

(German, 1561–1623)

after Cornelis Bos

(Flemish, 1500-1566)

after Giulio Romano

(Italian, 1499-1546)
Flanders
engraving
Sheet: 10.3 x 27.7 cm (4 1/16 x 10 7/8 in.)
Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1935.8
Location: 101A Prints & Drawings

Did You Know?

Even the most rollicking early modern parties probably did not include fauns and satyrs, but bell-wearing acrobats, like the one tumbling in the foreground, were often hired by wealthy hosts.

Description

A triumph was a civic ceremony and procession from antiquity, when military commanders were celebrated upon their return to Rome with the spoils of war. The grandeur and magnificence of such events, revived during the Renaissance, makes the diminutive size of these whimsical images of Bacchus’s triumphs even more amusing. The orderly parade depicted by Georg Pencz contrasts with the chaotic scene taking place in Johann Theodor de Bry’s engraving. Such small prints were meant to be enjoyed up close, perhaps with a magnifying glass, a socially acceptable examination of humorous or erotic content performed by a cast of scantily clad mythological characters.
  • Richard Fisher (1809-1890), Midhurst, England (L. 2204)
    ?–1935
    Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. [1889–1957], Cleveland, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    January 3, 1935–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2025-January 11, 2026).
    Prints Accessioned in 1935. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 14-November 8, 1936).
  • {{cite web|title=Triumph of Bacchus|url=false|author=Johann Theodor de Bry, Cornelis Bos, Giulio Romano|year=1580–1623|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1935.8