Bacchus And Ariadne
Ariadne has been left on the island of Naxos, deserted by her lover Theseus, whose ship sails away to the far left. She is discovered on the shore by the god Bacchus, leading a procession of revelers in a chariot drawn by two cheetahs (these were probably modelled on those in the Duke's menagerie and were tigers in Ovid's original text). Bacchus is depicted in mid-air as he leaps out of the chariot to protect Ariadne from these beasts. In the sky above the figure of Ariadne is the star constellation Corona Borealis (Northern crown). There are two possible variations of the story both going back to Ovid. In his Metamorphoses, Ovid has Bacchus throw the crown of Ariadne into the sky where it becomes the constellation Northern Crown. In Ars Amatoria, Bacchus promises the entire sky to Ariadne where she then would become the constellation Northern Crown. The National Gallery's website states that in the painting, "Bacchus, god of wine, emerges with his followers from the landscape to the right. Falling in love with Ariadne on first sight, he leaps from his chariot, drawn by two cheetahs, towards her. Ariadne had been abandoned on the Greek island of Naxos by Theseus, whose ship is shown in the distance. The picture shows her initial fear of Bacchus, but he raised her to heaven and turned her into a constellation, represented by the stars above her head."
Bacchus And Ariadne
Stamp Collection
Bacchus and Ariadne (1522–1523) by Titian
The composition is divided diagonally into two triangles, one of blue sky (using the expensive ultramarine pigment) and still but for the two lovers caught in movement, the other a riot of movement and predominantly green/brown in colour. The follower of Bacchus who struggles with a snake is sometimes falsely associated with the antique sculpture of Laocoön and His Sons who had been killed by snakes. This statue had recently been discovered in Rome. But the satyr in Titian's painting is not in a mortal combat with the snakes, he is merely girding himself with them as is described in the original text by Catullus. The King Charles Spaniel that barks at the boy satyr is a common motif in Titian's work and was probably a court pet. The gold urn inscribed with the artist's signature (TICIANVS) may also have been familiar to the Duke as one of the antiquities in his collection.
Paraguay 1989 Bacchus and Ariadne
by Titian (Deatail)
Bhutan 1989 Bacchus and Ariadne
by Titian stamp (Deatail)
Ghana 1989 Bacchus and Ariadne
by Titian (Deatail)
Paraguay 1989 Bacchus and Ariadne
by Titian (Deatail)
Bhutan 1989 Bacchus and Ariadne
by Titian block (Deatail)
Czechoslovakia 1988 Bacchus and Ariadne by Sebastiano Ricci (block)
Paraguay 1971 Bacchus and Ariadne another painting by Sebastiano Ricci
Austria 1961 The victory of Ariadne by Hans Makart
Czechoslovakia 1988 Bacchus and Ariadne by Sebastiano Ricci (stamps)
Austria 2011 The victory of Ariadne by Hans Makart
The victory of Ariadne by Hans Makart - The whole painting
DDR 1976 Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus by Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807)
Germany 2010 Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus by Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807)
Ariadne was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having helped Theseus escape the Minotaur but being abandoned by him on the island of Naxos; subsequently, she became the wife of Dionysus.
Italy 1994 Bacchus, Venus and Ariadne
by Jacopo Tintoretto
Bacchus, Venus and Ariadne is an oil painting executed in Venice in 1576–77 by the Italian painter Jacopo Tintoretto which hangs in the Sala dell'Anticollegio at the Doge's Palace in Venice. It is one of four almost square paintings on mythological subjects in the same room which were commissioned to celebrate the government of Doge Girolamo Priuli (1486–1567).
It depicts the god Bacchus arriving from the sea with a wreath and a skirt of vine leaves, bearing a bunch of grapes and a marriage ring. Ariadne is extending her ring finger in anticipation as the goddess Venus crowns her with a crown of stars. Ariadne was a Cretan princess, half-sister of the Minotaur, who had eloped with Theseus after he had killed the Minotaur. Theseus subsequently abandoned her on the island of Naxos where she was discovered by Bacchus. Bacchus and Ariadne were married and Ariadne elevated to join the gods, immortalised as the constellation Corona Borealis.
Ariadne personified Venice, favoured by the gods and crowned in glory, the marriage representing the union of Venice with the sea.
Creta 1905 Ariadne - Didrachma from Knosos
