VIGÉE-LEBRUN, Élisabeth
(b. 1755, Paris, d. 1842, Paris)

Bacchante

1785
Oil on canvas, 88 x 75 cm
The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

Crowned with a wreath of grapes and vines, this smiling woman with flushed cheeks represents a bacchante - a follower of the wine god Bacchus. Though Vigée-Lebrun was a successful portraitist, this work was probably not intended as an image of a particular individual. Instead, the mythological theme allowed the artist to paint an openly erotic image and demonstrate her skill capturing lively facial expressions.