Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian Postcard

Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian, 1522-23, depicts the woman Ariadne from Greek mythology, abandoned on the island of Naxos. The god Bacchus leaps towards her from his chariot driven by a pair of cheetahs before a procession of satyrs, nymphs and revelers. The interplay between warm tones of flesh and vegetation against cool blue sea and clouds exemplifies Titian’s renown as a colourist. Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, c. 1490 - 1576) was a leading Italian Renaissance painter from Venice. Titian led the Venetian school, which in contrast to the cool, linear classical style of the Florentines was known for command of colour, broad expressive brushwork, innovative composition, and subtle and expressive depiction of the human form. Titian broadened the accomplishments of the High Italian Renaissance and became one of the most influential painters in all of Western art.