Label Text:
While portraiture had always been a way for the wealthy to promote themselves and their families, this tradition took on a new form during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe, when more idealized allegorical, historical, and mythological representations became popular. The combination of elevated themes with portraiture allowed artists to showcase their abilities. At the same time, in taking on other personae, sitters enjoyed greater freedom in defining their own image.
Children of nobility have always been featured in art; however, the playful nature of these new modes of representation lent themselves perfectly to showcasing the little ones dressed up as allegorical or mythological subjects. To the modern eye the choices parents made in presenting their offspring may seem curious. Can we imagine depicting our children as little naked cupids with bows and arrows, as vagabonds, as shepherds, or, here, as Bacchus, god of wine and a symbol of debauchery and drunkenness?!
These pagan themes were popular even in the Calvinist and Protestant North. While Italian artists embraced this imagery, some Northern artists, constrained by Calvinist and Protestant doctrine, recast pagan subjects in a Christian mold. Bacchus’ wine could be read as the sacrificial blood, or young grape vines as metaphors for young, fragile lives. These multiple referents can call for complex interpretations of these portraits. HKDV
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1976.54.93 |
