Bacchante
Artist
Alexander Galt
(American, 1827-1863)
CultureAmerican
Date1852
MediumMarble
DimensionsOverall: 25 1/2 in. (64.8 cm)
InscribedA. Galt 1852
Credit LineGift of Captain Richard Galt Zimermann, USN, RTD, in memory of Susan Galt Zimermann Robinson, his mother, and her father Captain William Wilson Galt, USN, RTD.
Object number95.28
Not on view
DescriptionA marble bust of a young priestess of the god Bacchus. She is depicted with a wreath of grape leaves on her head, and with a smile on her lips.Label TextAlexander Galt American, 1827–1863 Bacchante, 1852 Marble One of Alexander Galt’s first original designs was this Bacchante, depicting a mythological woodland reveler and a follower of Bacchus, the god of wine. Galt exhibited the plaster model for this work in his Florence studio, and with help from a team of Italian assistants, he carved at least a dozen marble copies on demand for clients in Norfolk, Richmond, Charleston, and Washington, D.C. Such classical subjects demonstrated Galt’s imagination and readiness for even more sophisticated literary and historical projects. Gift of Captain Richard Galt Zimermann, USN, retired, in memory of Susan Galt Zimermann Robinson, his mother, and her father, Captain William Wilson Galt, USN, retired 95.28 Exhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997 "American Treasures at the Willoughby-Baylor House," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 2 - December 1, 2013. "The Norfolk Rooms," Willoughby-Baylor House, Norfolk, VA, opened August 16, 2014.Published ReferencesThayer Tolles, _Bacchante And Infant Faun- Tradition, Controvery, and Legacy_, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Summer 2019) figure 14, page 15.
