#Bacchus and Ariadne

[7pleiades7]

Bacchus and Ariadne by Eustache Le Sueur (French, 1616-1655), (about 1640), oil on canvas, 175.3 x 125.7 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

[tragediambulante]

A young couple (previously known as Bacchus and Ariadne), Tullio Lombardo, 1505-10

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Antoine-Jean Gros (French, 1771–1835) Bacchus and Ariadne, 1820

[mary-maud]

Bacchus and Ariadne, circa 1619–1620, Guido Reni

[mythinart]

bacchus and ariadne by titian (1522-1523)

[overly-dramatic-artist]

“An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.” Laura Schroff, An Invisible Thread

Bruno as Bacchus, the god of wine, theatre, and religious ecstasy with Angel as Princess Ariadne, who helped her lover through the Labyrinth with her glittering thread.

[emilyiamsorry]

Bacchus and Ariadne, Antoine-Jean Gros (1771–1835).

[pathofregeneration]

Portal of the Virgin, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral — Paris, France

* * *

Letter to a Modern Artist, part I

“I have been meaning to write: I have circled the writing pad as the swans circled Delos; I have hovered above the white paper as the Eagles hover above the compound in the Philosophic Egg, hoping for a birth of the spirit that drives one to get things done. The trouble with me is I have always got my nose buried in heart and mind consuming stuff, and when I finallly look up whoa! It's already spring. And here's me thinking it's only 3 a.m. I have obviously lost the ability to tell late from early. Do you know where early ends and late starts?

I am aware that you consider me particularly ignorant on the subject of Art, and I really do not take offense at such an evaluation, as it is probably more right than wrong. But the works of Art I like are not ignorant and the beauty of them are not in the least affected by my ignorance, but, as I look upon them, find myself washed clean of the leprosy of false art, with which the world is filled to brimming. Perhaps it would be useful at this point to give you a list of small selection of the works I value, because, God forbid, it might be Andy Warhole for all you know, and unless you know what I value, you cannot know where my heart is. If Earth was heaven, I should live in a Gothic Cathedral with great rose windows and make a portal just like the Virgin portal at Notre-Dame. The doors would be Ghiberti's and the ceilings Michelangelo's. On the walls I'd hang Leonardo's St. John and the Annunciation, Poussin's Et in Arcadia Ego (Les Bergers d'Arcadie. Later version of the Louvre), also Poussin's Orpheus and Eurydice. Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne, and The Entombment I'd fetch from the Louvre. The same gallery would also suffer the loss of the Silver Statue of the Virgin and Child and Amiens Cathedral would be minus their Madonna. Bernini and Michelangelo would supply the centerpieces and Cellini the golden nic-nacs. The Greeks would be useful as tile layers, but hey, who would object to a few Romans lending a helping hand? I should ask God to plant me a garden but this time without Adam and Eve, those greedy fruit eaters.

All these great works are full of symbolism for those who care to read them. They are hieroglyphs from God, created in stone or on canvas by the Servants of the Lords of Light. And I truly believe that to be a true Artist is to be a Servant of the Higher Powers and of Truth; for to be otherwise is to be a creator of wallpaper—or of shelf-fillers—or of infernal cacophony.

But the pure Beauty of Great Art lifts the thoughts away from earthly cares and woes, and brings Grace to the inner minds of those who look upon them with eyes that see; clarifying the sight until there are no more boundaries and no distance. I see these Works as the materialized 'shadows' of Holy Inspiration, earthly representatives of what the great Artist sees in his enlightened Vision, and which he can only reproduce as best he can with whatever talent and sweat is his. (I can only imagine that the true Artist will never be satisfied with the reproduction of his vision, for no work of Art can ever tell us exactly what those who wrote or painted saw or heard or felt in their visions. And I speak here only of great works, not of the twaddle poured out by would-be artists.)”

— Edda Livingston

[amaliadillin]

Bacchus and Ariadne by Giovanni Battista Foggini from the 1700s, another sculpture on view in the National Gallery of Art.

Ariadne is experiencing quite the resurgence in popularity these days, and I love that for her. For myself, I am absolutely fascinated by what her relationship might have been to her brother, Asterion--the Minotaur--and how she came to the point of helping the hero who slew him. Which is where my Ariadne and the Beast short story focuses itself!

@zenobianeil’s book, Ariadne Unraveled, is far more interested in the whole of Ariadne’s life and her relationship to Dionysus (understandably!) and it’s definitely worth checking out and seeing how she brought both these mythic figures to life!

(photo by me.)

[musingsoftheunivrse]

Bacchus and Ariadne, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Circa 1745/1745.

[7pleiades7]

Bacchus and Ariadne (1716-1718) by Giovanni Battista Pittoni (Venetian, 1687–1767), oil on canvas, 171 × 130 cm, The Warsaw National Museum, Warsaw

[joana-de-artes]

Dionysus rescuing Ariadne from the Underworld is the most romantic thing I've ever heard in my life

[neptunesize]

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓮

a dionysus and ariadne playlist

✦ Bedroom Hymns - Florence and the Machine

✦ Glitter & Gloss - Skott

✦ Fool - Børns

✦ Is Everybody Going Crazy - Nothing but Thieves

and more! listen here!

[the-evil-clergyman]

Ariadne by John William Waterhouse (1898)

[laikaru]

An Ariadne and Dionysus sketch I‘m not particularly pleased with

[overly-dramatic-artist]

Bacchus and Ariadne - esque WIP for Bruno and Angel