Bacchus and Ariadne

Antoine-Jean Gros's Bacchus and Ariadne of 1820 depicts the god of wine discovering the abandoned Ariadne on Naxos, his arrival transforming her abandonment by Theseus into the prelude to divine love — a mythological subject of consolation and transformation. The late mythological works of Gros's career show him departing from the Napoleonic battle painting that had made his reputation, exploring sensuous classical subject matter with the warmth and color he had absorbed from his Italian studies. The painting demonstrates his facility with the nude in a more relaxed mode than his heroic historical subjects.

Gros renders the mythological couple with warm, sensuous colors and fluid brushwork derived from his study of Rubens and Titian. The lush landscape setting and the decorative approach mark a shift from his earlier monumental battle paintings.