Bacchanale d'enfants
Nicolas Poussin·1626
Historical Context
Bacchanal of Children from 1626 at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome shows Poussin painting putti engaged in Bacchic revelry — dancing, making music, treading grapes — in a format drawn from ancient Roman decorative art and transmitted through the Renaissance tradition of putto imagery. These playful compositions reflected his immersion in the ancient visual culture he was studying at first hand in Rome, where sarcophagus reliefs, stucco decorations, and ancient paintings all featured putti in similar Bacchic activity. Poussin's mythological subjects drew on deep reading of classical texts as well as direct observation of ancient objects, and his treatment of infant Bacchic imagery showed his command of one of the most venerable traditions in classical art. His warm early palette and naturalistic handling of the child figures created compositions that were simultaneously learned and charming, satisfying a market that wanted both erudition and decorative appeal. The Galleria Nazionale holds this as an early example of Poussin's classical mythological decorations.
Technical Analysis
The composition of playing children creates a lively decorative scene. Poussin's warm palette and naturalistic handling of the child figures create a charming mythological genre piece.
Look Closer
- ◆Infant putti tread grapes at the center, the bacchic ritual of wine-making performed by the most improbably young participants possible.
- ◆Garlands of fruit and leaves framing the composition are painted in the rich autumnal colors of harvest — nature's abundance as decorative border.
- ◆A putto in one corner blows a horn with comical seriousness, the announcement of celebration coming from a figure too small for the instrument.
- ◆Poussin's handling of the children's soft flesh is notably warmer and more rounded than his treatment of adult figures anywhere in his oeuvre.
