Bacchantes
1920
Arthur Bowen Davies captures the wild, ecstatic spirit of ancient mythology in this dreamy 1920 sketch of three Bacchantes—female followers of the wine god Dionysus. Floating clusters of grapes crown the ethereal, dancing nudes, while a spotted leopard lounges lazily at their feet, grounding the mystical scene in a touch of untamed nature. Davies, a key organizer of the groundbreaking 1913 Armory Show, often favored these romantic, symbolist visions over the gritty urban realism of his contemporaries, creating a visual poetry that feels both timeless and intimately fleeting.
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