Antonio Casanova Y Estorach [1847-1896]
Spanish Historic Realist genre painter
Bacchus, god of wine, ca.1870s
Oil on canvas
16 x 13 inches [unframed] | ? x ? inches [framed]

TITLES:
2023 Bacchus, god of wine

CONDITION:
Original untouched condition in period frame.

DESCRIPTION:
Depicted in this painting is Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, intoxication, ritual madness, and theatre. He is the equivalent of the Greek god Dionysus. Bacchus was the son of Jupiter and Semele, and was born in Thebes. According to legend, Bacchus wandered the world with his drunken followers, the Bacchantes and Satyrs. He taught mortals how to cultivate grapes and make wine. Bacchus was associated with unbridled festivities and ecstatic celebration. He freed his followers from self-conscious fear and care, allowing them to lose themselves in the present moment. Bacchus was sometimes depicted as an effeminate, long-haired youth and other times as a mature, bearded man. His symbols included the thyrsus (a staff wrapped in grapevine leaves), drinking cups, and fruiting grapevines. As the god of theatre, Bacchus presided over comedies and tragedies. His festivals were lively affairs filled with music, dance, and drunken revelry.

Bacchus holds a kylix, which is a shallow two-handled drinking vessel used for drinking wine at symposia (drinking parties) and other celebrations in ancient Greece. It had a broad, shallow bowl set on a short footed base. The wide bowl allowed for easier drinking at gatherings and captured the aromas of the wine.

Kylix cups came in many varieties during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. They were made from painted terracotta or precious metals. Many were beautifully painted with black or red figure pottery scenes from Greek mythology and culture.

As the god of wine, Bacchus was naturally associated with the kylix. In ancient Greek and Roman art, Bacchus is often shown lifting a kylix to his lips or carrying one in his hand as a symbol of festivities and wine drinking. Along with the thyrsus and grapevines, the kylix became one of the most iconic attributes of Bacchus associated with partying and revelry.

Antonio Casanova Y Estorach [1847-1896] was known for historic scenes and folklore, he was also known for his rosy-cheeked depictions of mischievous monks, cardinals, and other churchmen. Frequently plump and jolly, they are often represented as relishing the worldly aspects afforded to their lifestyle.

This painting of Bacchus is likely an earlier work than his more mature works of cardinals and monks.  But, it shows possibly, where Casanova Y Estorach may have began his obsession with painting jolly overweight men.

PROVENANCE:
2023 ( David Smernoff, New Haven, CT & New York, NY ) ;
after ca.1870s Private collection of [unknown] ;
ca.1870s Antonio Casanova Y Estorach [1847-1896], the artist .

EXHIBITION:
– [none known] ;

REFERENCES:
– [none known] ;

BIOGRAPHY:
Antonio Casanova y Estorach [1847-1896] was a Spanish painter associated with the Realist movement. He was born in Barcelona in 1847. Casanova began his art studies at the Escuela de la Lonja in Barcelona before moving to Madrid in 1866 to enroll at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. He was part of a group of artists working in Madrid known as the Episodios Nacionales after the series of novels written by Benito Pérez Galdós. This group sought to capture scenes from contemporary Spanish life in a realistic style influenced by the French Realist movement.

Casanova first came to prominence in 1871 when he exhibited his painting Interior of a Fishing Port at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid. The work’s depiction of the hard lives of ordinary working people aligned with the social concerns of the emerging Realist movement. He continued to exhibit regularly at the Madrid Salons throughout the 1870s and 1880s. Major paintings from this period include The Eviction (1874), Sunday Afternoon (1878), and The Madhouse (1881). His dark palette and unidealized portrayals of poverty proved controversial to more conservative academic artists and critics.

In 1883, Casanova was commissioned to create a series of paintings on seamstresses in Madrid. These sensitive portrayals of working women have been acclaimed as his finest works. Major paintings from the series include The Embroiderers (1884), The Dressmakers (1885), and Resting (1886).

Casanova died of tuberculosis in Madrid in 1896 at the age of 49. In his relatively short career, he made an important contribution to the realist art movement in Spain with his socially conscious depictions of everyday life. He can be credited with helping to introduce the Realist approach and aesthetic to a new generation of Spanish painters.