Bacchus and Ariadne... one, no one and a hundred thousand meanings

With Francesca Altomare

The classic myth of Bacchus and Ariadne became fashionable in the Renaissance, when the theme became a beloved and widespread subject for works of art, poetic and literary compositions, representations.

In the passage from the ancient world to the Renaissance, this myth took on new and unprecedented meanings, not always easy to identify.

After an introduction dedicated to the iconographic fortune of the mythological narrative and the many interpretations that followed, the conference will examine two works in particular: the bronze busts made by  Mantuan sculptor Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi - known under the pseudonym "Antico" - made around year 1520 on commission of the Marquise of Mantua Isabella d'Este.

Still little known as artist, although technically very refined, Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi established a relationship of mutual esteem with the members of the Gonzaga court, for whom he created numerous works of art.