Dionysian Frieze
- Medium
- Graphite, pen and brush with black ink, green and gray wash, and white gouache, on two joined sheets
- Dimensions
- 7 3/8 x 32 1/4 in. (18.73 x 81.92 cm) (sheet) 16 7/8 x 41 1/2 x 1 7/8 in. (42.86 x 105.41 x 4.76 cm) (outer frame)
- Genre
- Drawings
Tags
france
About
The French sculptor Jean-Guillaume Moitte spent two years in Rome, and this long, relief-like drawing reflects his study of ancient Roman art. In both format and subject it recalls a famous Roman wall painting, The Aldobrandini Wedding, dating from the time of Emperor Augustus and excavated in Rome in 1601. Represented here from left to right are the stages of a young woman’s initiation into carnal love. To the accompaniment of music, and led by a more knowing companion, she is carried by a faun toward the realm of lust. Then, startled and modestly covering her face and genitals, she is shown the phallus of a male herm. In the final scene, reclining now, she passionately kisses an aroused satyr.
