Silenus, 1838
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corotexpand_more
Oil on canvasexpand_more
Bequest of J. Jerome Hillexpand_more 73.42.2
On View in Gallery 321expand_more
In Greek and Roman mythology, Silenus is the faithful friend and teacher of the wine god Dionysus. On Corot's canvas, he is the butt of a joke, awakening from his drunken stupor to find that his fellow revelers have tied him up with his own garlands and painted his face red with mulberries. A good sport, he joins in the laughter and all is forgiven.
The picture is an excellent example of "historical landscape painting," a genre popularized by Nicholas Poussin, a French artist from the 1600s, in which mythological or Biblical scenes play out in idyllic settings.
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Details
- Title
- Silenus
- Artist Life
- 1796 - 1875
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 73.42.2
- Curator Approved
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