Bacchus on a Throne − Nymphs Offering Bacchus Wine and Fruit

The splendid feast of a young man and three half-clad ladies was for many years a mystery. Ostensibly painted in 1658 for the Lukas Guild in Haarlem, the Japanese lacquered bowl in the Kangxi style (they were first made in China in 1665) in the still life’s foreground indicates it was not painted until after 1670. For a long time, the man with his crown of vine leaves was seen as Emperor Nero or the scene read as an allegory of a prince, but today is considered a more complex allegory: Bacchus with the rod of a Kyros, vine leaves and a lynx’s fur is revered here as the God of Fertility. The nymphs with their wine cups, cornucopia, and fruits and blossoms in their hair could be the companions of the Goddess of Flowers Flora and the Goddess of Fruit Pomona. Bacchus’ foot stands between a harness and the mask of a face with white hair. Following Karel van Mander, Bacchus had two faces, the one angry, the other merry, as wine had two effects. In the picture, the young, lively God of Wine has won out over the old, cantankerous one. Today, the work is cherished as a prime example of Dutch Neo-classicism. (Bettina Baumgärtel)