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| Artist | Attributed to Cazes, Pierre Jacques (French painter, 1676-1754) |
| Previous attributions | Previously attributed to Boucher, François (French painter, engraver, and designer, 1703-1770) Previously attributed to Coypel, Antoine (French painter, 1661-1722) |
| Title | The Marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne |
| Date earliest | about 1690 |
| Date latest | 1754 |
| Material | oil on canvas |
| Measurements | 66.6 x 86.6 cm |
| Description | The story of Bacchus and Ariadne has been a popular subject in art since ancient times. Ariadne, daughter of King Minos of Crete, is abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus of Athens. She despairs until Bacchus the god of wine approaches with his wild but cheerful band of revellers and offers to marry Ariadne. In this colourful French depiction, many elements of the story are elegantly brought into the scene: on the horizon to the left, Theseus’ ship sails away, while in the centre the god of marriage, Hymen, descends on a cloud with a torch to join the god and his mortal princess in matrimony. |
| Subject | mythology (Bacchus and Ariadne) |
| Collection | Holburne Museum of Art, Bath |
| Current accession number | A34 |
| Acquisition details | Bequeathed by Miss Mary Anne Barbara Holburne 1882. |
| Provenance | Sir Thomas William Holburne, by 1867-74; by descent to Mary Anne Barbara Holburne (1802-1882), 1874. |
| Principal exhibitions | National Exhibition of Works of Art, Leeds, 1868, cat. no. 396, as Bacchus and Ariadne by Francois Boucher; Town House Treasures: Sir William Holburne of Bath, The Wallace Collection, London, April - June 2004. |
| Principal publications | Wright, C., Old Master Paintings in Britain: An Index of Continental Old Master Paintings Executed before c.1800 in Public Collections in the United Kingdom, London, 1976, p. 44, as by Antoine Coypel; Rosenberg, Pierre, and Isabelle Julia, Drawings by Pierre Jacques Cazes in Master Drawings XXIII-XXIV, autumn 1986, no. 3, p. 357, ill. no. 42. |
| Notes | Previous attributions: Catalogue of the Pictures and Library, Engravings, Etchings and Miniatures, Belonging to Sir Thomas William Holburne, Bart., Bath, 1867, cat. no. 35: 'Bouchet' (dining room); Catalogue of the Holburne of Menstrie Art Museum by W.Chaffers, London, 1887, cat. no. 1354: 'Boucher'; F. Möckler, Holburne of Menstrie Art Museum, Bath, 1902, cat. no. 22: 'Francois Boucher'; remarks on the paintings by Ayerst. H. Buttery, 1906, in the form of annotations to the 1902 catalogue: 'second rate - decorative viz Boucher'; Notes by Hugh Blaker, Curator 1905-1913, cat. no. 34: 'French School'; hand written register of paintings, watercolours and miniatures, giving inventory numbers with ‘A’ prefix still in use, by G. Holden, Curator 1917-1926, compiled shortly after move to Sydney Hotel, cat. no. 34: 'A. Coypel'; The Holburne of Menstrie Museum Catalogue, Part I: Pictures, Bath, 1927, cat. no. 154: 'A. Coypel'; The Holburne of Menstrie Museum Catalogue, Part I: Pictures, Bath, 2nd edition, 1936, cat. no. 137: 'A. Coypel'; 1976: 'Antoine Coypel' and '?Pierre Sagnes Cazes'; Pierre Rosenberg, Louvre, 1983: 'Le tableau revient, à coup sûr, à Cazes, le maître de Chardin. C’est un artiste que je connais bien. Votre tableau est l’une de ses plus belles réussites.' Version in sale at Drouot-Montagne, 22 June 1992, atrributed to Louis de Boullogne le Jeune, but re-attributed by Alastair Laing to Cazes. Labels: Thomas William Holburne label, back: 'Marriage of Bacchus & Aridane / By Bouchet'; 'National Exhibition / of / works of art / Leeds, 1858. 3 / Picture Galleries / [...] Holbu [...]';. '[...]F WORKS OF ART / [...] EDS, 1868 / [...] Van [...]'. |
| Rights status | © The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath |
| Author | Amina Wright |
