Follower of Simon Vouet

Depicting Bacchus and Ariadne’s first meeting, this work elucidates the moment after Ariadne’s desertion by Theseus on the island of Naxos as described by Ovid (Metamorphoses 8: 176–82). As Theseus makes his departure, Bacchus and his troupe arrive promising Ariadne the stars themselves: the jeweled crown he has crafted for her has been thrown to the heavens, becoming the constellation onto which they will depart following their marriage.

The original painting by Vouet, now lost, is known only from an engraving by Michel Dorigny in 1644.¹ A Bacchus and Ariadne by Eustache Le Sueur, now in the MFA Boston and previously given to Vouet, has a composition that derives from the original Vouet painting; Le Sueur, however, has turned the seated Ariadne to face toward Bacchus, gazing upwards at him as he places the crown on her head.²  

^1. See https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_X-6-60 

2. See https://collections.mfa.org/objects/34033/bacchus-and-ariadne