Satyr Trying to Wake Silenus with a Grapevine

Description

The dangers of overindulging become comically clear in Giorgio Ghisi’s lively engraving. Silenus—Bacchus’s lustful, frequently inebriated companion—appears in a wine-induced stupor, empty pitcher in hand. The attendant teasingly trying to wake Silenus with a bunch of grapes (instead of more wine) may be a reference to the hangover relief now known as the hair of the dog, or in this case, the hair of the goat. Ghisi made this print in a shallow bas-relief style after a drawing by Giulio Romano, adding the grape arbor and background shadows.

Satyr Trying to Wake Silenus with a Grapevine

Giorgio Ghisi

c. 1540

Accession Number

44294

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 20.2 × 31 cm (8 × 12 1/4 in.); Sheet: 21.5 × 31.5 cm (8 1/2 × 12 7/16 in.)

Classification

engraving

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Joseph Brooks Fair Fund