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Andrea Mantegna

Bacchanal with Silenus

1475/80
Engraving on laid paper
31.2 × 44.3 cm (12.3 × 17.4 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Andrea Mantegna’s adoption of ancient Roman motifs contributed to their prominence during the Italian Renaissance, especially when translated into widely circulating and frequently copied engravings. Mantegna’s oblong bacchanalian subjects particularly extol the wonders of the god of wine as well as the excesses of his entourage. Indeed, in this print of a procession-like grouping of figures, Dionysos’s portly, inebriated sidekick Silenos receives mock preferential treatment as he is lifted by satyrs and crowned with grapevines. The drunken satyrs, nymphs, and humans sing, make music, and grapple with unwieldy flesh as they cross a pool of wine and press on through the vineyard.

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