Bacchus and Ariadne
Artist
Luca Giordano
(Italian, 1634-1705)
CultureItalian
Dateca. 1685-1686
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions48 × 69 in. (121.9 × 175.3 cm)
Overall, Frame: 64 × 84 × 5 1/2 in. (162.6 × 213.4 × 14 cm)
Overall, Frame: 64 × 84 × 5 1/2 in. (162.6 × 213.4 × 14 cm)
InscribedSigned lower left: "JORDANUS F."
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.650
Collections
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 207
Label TextLuca Giordano Italian, 1634–1705 Bacchus and Ariadne, ca. 1685–86 Oil on canvas Go big or go home—that is the message of Luca Giordano’s heartfelt scene. It depicts the beautiful Ariadne sleeping as her fickle lover Theseus abandons her (you can spot his ship sailing away in the background). Seeing her by the water, the wine god Bacchus rushes in with his entourage to proclaim his love. The crown of stars above them foretells the success of his romantic gesture; once wed, Bacchus will place Ariadne’s wedding crown in the sky where it becomes the constellation Corona Borealis. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.650 ProvenanceA. Schindler, Germany, 1956; Acquavella Galleries, New York, 1957; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, 1971. Exhibition History"Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown Inaugural Exhibition," Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1958. (Exhib. cat. no. 22). "1550-1650, A Century of Masters from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, Texas, Sept. 7 - Nov. 4, 1962; Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dec. 4, 1962 - Jan. 23, 1963; University of Texas, Austin, Texas, Feb. 4 - March 31, 1963. (Exhib. cat. p.11). "Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk," for the benefit of The Chrysler Museum Art Reference Library, Wildenstein & Co., New York, N. Y., April 13 - May 13, 1978. (Exhib. cat. no. 6). "A Taste for Angels: Neapolitan Painting in North America 1650-1750," Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, Sept. 9 - Nov. 29, 1987; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL, Jan. 13 - March 13, 1988. (Exhib. cat. no. 11). "Luca Giordano, 1634-1705," Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy, March 3 - May 27, 2001; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria, June 17 - October 7, 2001; Los Angeles County Museum, Calif., November 4, 2001 - January 20, 2002.; Published ReferencesBertina S. Manning, _Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown Inaugural Exhibition_, exh. cat., Chrysler Art Museum of Provincetown, Ma., 1958, no. 22. _1550-1650, A Century of Masters from the Collection of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr._, exh. cat., Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth, Tx., 1962, 11, 38. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya, _Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_, exh. cat., Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va., 1978, 17, 43, no. 6. Eric Zafran, "From The Renaissance To The Grand Tour," _Apollo_ 107, no. 194 (April 1978): 4-15, ill. _The Chrysler Museum: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Norfolk, Virginia_, (Norfolk: Chrysler Museum, 1982), 31. _A Taste For Angels: Neapolitan Painting In North America 1650-1750_, exh. cat., Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1987, no. 11. Jefferson C. Harrison, _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_ (Norfolk: The Chrysler Museum, 1991), 45, no. 36. _Luca Giordano, 1634-1705_, exh. cat., Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy, 2001, 294-295. Alessandro Brogi, "Dipinti italiani a Bückeburg," _Appunti_ LV, no. 55-56 (December 2003): 97-100, no. 50. Maria H. Loh, "New and Improved: Repetition as Originality in Italian Baroque Practice and Theory," _Art Bulletin_ 86, no. 3 (September 2004): 477-504. Laura Muti and Daniele de Sarno Prignano, _Capolavori in Proscenio: Dipinti del Cinque, Sei e Settecento_ (Faenza, Italy: Edit Faenza, 2006), 161 & 162. ISBN: 88-8152-140-7 Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 30 fig. 23. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1 Maria H. Loh, _Titian Remade: Repetition and the Transformation of Early Modern Italian Art_ (Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2007), 146-148, Fig. 61. ISBN: 978-0-89236-873-0
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