Bacchus and Ariadne on the Isle of Naxos

Gallery 383, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

Bacchus and Ariadne on the Isle of Naxos

c. 1693

Antoine Coypel (French, 1661–1722)

This painting was commissioned by the Duke of Orléans, only brother of King Louis XIV, to decorate a small, private room in his Château of Saint-Cloud. The subject derives from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, has been abandoned by her lover Theseus, whom she had rescued from the labyrinth. As she mourns his departure she is discovered by the god Bacchus, who immediately marries her. Coypel depicts the tender moment of transition as Ariadne's tears give way to feelings of newborn love.

Gallery 383, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Object Details

Title:

Bacchus and Ariadne on the Isle of Naxos

Date:

c. 1693

Artist:

Antoine Coypel (French, 1661–1722)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

28 3/4 x 33 11/16 inches (73 x 85.5 cm) Framed: 40 1/4 × 44 3/4 × 4 3/8 inches (102.2 × 113.7 × 11.1 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

Purchased with funds (by exchange) from the bequest of Edna M. Welsh and the gift of Mrs. R. Barclay Scull, 1990

Accession Number:

1990-54-1

Geography:

Made in France, Europe

Provenance

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Gallery 383, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

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