Bacchus und Ariadne (nach Tintoretto)

August Wolf's 1872 copy of Tintoretto's Bacchus and Ariadne — from the cycle of mythological canvases painted for the Palazzo Ducale in Venice — records one of the most celebrated mythological paintings in the entire Venetian tradition. Tintoretto's version of this subject, in which Bacchus places a crown of stars on Ariadne's head while Venus witnesses the scene from the water, is notable for its floating, dreamlike quality and extraordinary nocturnal light. The Bavarian State Painting Collections' possession of Wolf's copy brought this masterpiece to the attention of German audiences who could not visit the Ducal Palace.

Wolf faces the considerable challenge of reproducing Tintoretto's extraordinary nocturnal lighting — the cool moonlight on floating figures, the luminous ring of stars, and the deep shadows of the sea and sky.