Triumph of Bacchus (Wautier)

The painting depicts the drunken Bacchus (Dionysus in Greek myth), reclined on a wheelbarrow and surrounded by revelers. His wheelbarrow is being pushed by a grizzled satyr, and a man is pouring juice into Bacchus's open mouth. The presence of the donkey just behind him indicates that this man may be Bacchus' friend and teacher, Silenus, but it is not confirmed.[1]

On the far right is a self=portrait of the artist,[1] notably the only figure looking directly out at the viewer. Unlike the other figures, she appears somewhat detached from the excitement and is paying no attention to the man trying to touch her. At her feet are two children playing with a goat.

Because Bacchanal scenes typically feature the god surrounded by his female followers, the originality of Wautier's composition indicates that if Leopold Wilhelm did commission this painting from her, it was likely with minimal instruction.[1]

This painting diverts somewhat significantly from other depictions of the same subject. Bacchus is more typically painted in a wagon pulled by large cats, as in Cornelis de Vos' Triumph of Bacchus, but Wautier has foregone this imagery entirely with the exception of the leopard skin draped over the god's lap. Bacchus is also more typically shown surrounded by Bacchantes (Maenads to the Greek Dionysus), his female followers, yet Wautier has instead emphasized the nude male body in her composition. Because women at the time were not believed to be able to paint the male body accurately due to the fact that they were not permitted to study the male nude, it is suggested that this choice is a direct commentary on the matter.[1] The ongoing debate over whether or not women should be permitted to paint nude models was in many ways irrelevant to Wautier; she was raised with eight brothers and, with most of them being younger than she was,[1] was familiar enough with the nude male form that there was little to no impediment to her painting the male form.

At the center of the painting is Bacchus' covered groin, giving the composition a more sexual overtone. The goat is also typically considered a symbol of lust and loss of innocence.[1]

Wautier was in her late 40s or early 50s at the time she painted The Triumph of Bacchus, and was living in Brussels, where she was well-known at court.[1] She is likely to have moved to Brussels from Mons after her mother's death, following three of her brothers who had moved to Brussels previously. She lived with her brother Charles, also an established artist at court in Brussels, until she died in 1689.[1]

Saint Joachim Reading a Book, (c. 1650), by Michaelina Wautier

The archduke's collection was largely secular works, but not exclusively, and Wautier's Triumph of Bacchus was not the only Bacchus painting in the archduke's collection. It included Maerten van Heemskerck's Bacchus' Triumphant Return from India, Frans Wouters' Bacchus Procession, and another Bacchus procession by Jan Thomas, which is dated 1656--around the same time as Wautier's Bacchus.[1]

His collection included three other paintings attributed to Michaelina Wautier: Saint Joachim Reading a Book, Saint Joseph, and another Saint Joachim.