Bacchus and Ariadne

Group members: Brady Reichert, Peter Brady

DESCRIPTION:
The basics
This is an oil painting by Titian, entitled "Bacchus and Ariadne". It was painted in 1522-23 and currently hangs in the National Gallery (London). The dimensions of the work are: 69.5" (tall) x 75" (wide), roughly square in its overall format.

The subject of the composition appears to be a narrative, taking place within a landscape that is set against a bright blue sky.

Top to bottom:
The lower half of the scene is occupied by a parade of human and animal figures who appear to be set in motion on a dirt path. The vast blue sky and green foliage that occupies the upper half of the scene is punctuated by a solitary figure emerging from the lower half.

Front to back: foreground, middle-ground, background

Foreground:
On the left-hand side of the composition, we see a feminine figure who appears to be pointing or gesturing into the distance, glancing inward towards the mass / group entering the composition from the right. In addition, we observe a metal urn lying on its side, resting atop a piece of fabric positioned on the ground.

From the right-hand side, The lower half of the scene is occupied by a parade of human and animal figures who appear to be set in motion on a dirt path leading into and through the horizontal mid-point of the composition. Within this mass, we observe the following: a figure who seems to be struggling to walk in spite of being wrapped by a writhing snake, a pair of leopards attached to a wooden cart or chariot, , a dog, several flower piercing through the ground, a half-boy/half-animal creature dragging the head of a calf by a rope, another animal-like man gripping a vine-entangled staff in his left hand while raising into the air what seems to be a hind leg of an animal. One lady holds two musical cymbals, while another is seen clutching a tambourine.

Middle-ground:
On the right-hand side of the composition, in the middle ground, we observe an approaching group of three figures accompanied by a donkey.

LINE
The character of line found throughout the painting is best described as organic or curvilinear; however, one can also find a number of straight lines employed in vertical, horizontal, and diagonal directions. The mention of line refers specifically to its function as the linear separation between objects, not as an outline / tracing surrounding the objects. It is inherent in the compositional "pathway" throughout the composition.

SHAPE
A number of implied shapes can be found throughout areas of the composition (namely triangles and squares), ranging in size. Although angular, more architectural forms can be found in the likes of a staff, wooden wheeled cart, and the distant buildings, the predominant forms contained in this composition are organic in character.

COLOR
The use of color is rather bold in some areas of the canvas, with the predominant color scheme deriving from subtle variations of primary hues (red, blue, yellow) and the color green. In addition to the areas of saturated color use, Titian has included the use of muted, duller versions of these colors.

TEXTURE
The simulated textures contained in the painting are vast, ranging from the soft, velvety appearance of fur to the rough texture of tree bark; from the soft, warm feeling of skin to the hard, cold surface of metal.

VALUE
The values employed by Titian range greatly, from extreme dark to extreme light. The values are modeled smoothly from light to dark, lending a three-dimensional appearance to the scene.

SPACE (DEPTH)
Titian's work possesses a great deal of space / depth, which has been achieved through a number of strategies.

 

The work has a mood of chaos to it. The reasons being the people are jumping about and look to be yelling as well. You also see a look of suddenness in the group of people. Now from what I read Ariadne daughter of King Minos of Crete was left on the island of Naxos by her lover Theseus. Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens. Ariadne is discovered on the shore by the god Bacchus who is leading a large group of people in a chariot drawn by two cheetahs. Bacchus who is in mid-air as he jumps out of the chariot to protect Ariadne from the cheetahs. The stars in the sky is Ariadne’s crown, which Bacchus has thrown into the sky, and it then becomes the constellation Corona.
This all takes place on the island of Naxos

DESCRIPTION In this picture Bacchus and Ariadne I see a man wrestling with a snake, a satyr dragging a calf's head and a chariot being pulled by leopards. In the top right corner I see someone who looks like he is sleeping on a donkey.
ANALYSIS There are some straight lines for the trees, but their are alot of curved lines because of the movement of the figures in the painting. Movement is used in the painting because of the man grappling with the snake and the man swinging the calf leg
INTERPRETATION Depth is used because the people in the back of the painting are smaller than the people in front of the painting, and the artist blended the colors together for the sky making it look like it's actually moving.