Titian was the Venetian Renaissance painter known for rich color who painted Bacchus and Ariadne. The large mythological canvas was made for the Duke of Ferrara’s camerino, or private study.
Titian painted the work between 1520 and 1523. Its subject comes from classical mythology: Bacchus discovers Ariadne after she has been abandoned on the island of Naxos and falls in love with her.
The painting is now in the National Gallery in London. Its vivid blues, reds, and golds, together with the energetic movement of the figures, demonstrate the coloristic approach associated with Venetian painting.
Titian’s name is sometimes written Tiziano Vecelli. He worked for rulers and patrons across Europe and became one of the most influential painters of the sixteenth century, but Bacchus and Ariadne is specifically a work of his early mature period.