Bacchus and Ariadne
c. 1880
John La Farge brings the myth of Bacchus and Ariadne to life with soft, warm strokes of red chalk. You can almost feel the tension in the air as the seated Ariadne looks up, perhaps realizing the god of wine has arrived to rescue her from the island of Naxos. The standing figure of Bacchus is sketched more faintly, like a ghostly presence emerging to change her fate forever. It's a beautiful example of how 19th-century artists revisited ancient stories with a fresh, romantic eye.
- Technique
- red chalk
- Material
- paper
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