Drunken Silenus

Drunken Silenus (c. 1620), in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, depicts the corpulent companion of Bacchus in a state of wine-fueled revelry, supported by satyrs and maenads. The subject derives from classical mythology and was popular in Baroque painting as an opportunity to explore the comic and grotesque aspects of the human body. Van Dyck's treatment reflects the direct influence of Rubens, who painted the subject multiple times with characteristic physical exuberance. The young Van Dyck brings his own refinement even to this coarse subject, rendering the fleshy Silenus with a painterly virtuosity that elevates the buffoonish scene. The Pushkin Museum's collection of European painting includes notable Flemish Baroque works acquired from Russian aristocratic collections.

The painting renders the heavy, intoxicated figure with characteristic attention to flesh tones and textures. Van Dyck's warm palette and the dynamic pose of the stumbling Silenus create a scene of comic physical realism.