Child Bacchus Taken to Heaven by Mercury

The format and date of this painting lead scholars to include it in the mythological series that Patania painted for the collector Vaginelli between 1828 and 1829. Though the subject has not been clearly identified yet, the winged figure does not seem to have female features and might be identified as Zephyrus, Love or Mercury if we imagine that the baby being carried is Bacchus who has been given to them by Zeus. Among the iconographic sources are the models of classic statues, in particular the winged victories set as decorations of the triumphal arches.