Bacchus and Ariadne
1520–1523 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery, London
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About this work
- Artist
- Titian (c. 1488–1576)
- Year
- 1520–1523
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 176.5 × 191 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery, London
- Movement
- Renaissance
Bacchus leaps from his cheetah-drawn chariot toward Ariadne, who has just been abandoned on the shore of Naxos by Theseus, whose ship is a speck on the horizon. Behind the god comes his rowdy train of satyrs, maenads and a drunken Silenus, and above Ariadne's head the crown of stars Bacchus will give her is already in the sky. Titian painted it between 1520 and 1523 for the private study of Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, as one of a set of mythological pictures by the leading painters of the day. The story comes from Ovid and Catullus. The blue of the sky and Ariadne's robe is pure ultramarine, and the composition splits on a diagonal between stillness and tumult. It has been in the National Gallery in London since 1826.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Ultramarine sky and a leaping god give this real colour and movement for a living or dining room, over a sofa or sideboard at 24×36 in black. A deep blue or warm neutral wall holds it; it wants that wall to itself.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1520–1523)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Bacchus and Ariadne in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Bacchus and Ariadne painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.























