Painted for the 'alabaster studiolo' of Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Titian's 'Bacchus and Ariadne' (1520–1523) is one of the greatest works of Venetian colour. Bacchus, returning from his vintage with his rowdy train of satyrs and maenads, catches sight of Ariadne on the shore of Naxos just after she has been abandoned by Theseus; he leaps from his chariot, pulled by two cheetahs, and offers to make her his bride and set her crown among the stars. The whole scene is a cinematic freeze-frame, lifted directly from the poetry of Catullus and Ovid. Entered the National Gallery in London in 1826.

Exhibition Venue

National Gallery

City of Westminster, United Kingdom