RUBENS, Pieter Pauwel (b. 1577, Siegen, d. 1640, Antwerpen) The Drunken Silenus 1616-17 Oil on wood, 212 x 214,5 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich In Greek mythology Silenus is a rural god, one of the retinue of Bacchus, a gay, fat old drunkard who was yet wise and had the gift of prophecy. In Rubens' painting he is shown drunkenly tottering, his belly swollen with meat and drink, and supported by a disparate collection of dotards, drunkards, blacks, children and young women. The careless inebriation of this bacchanal is expressed by a thicker touch that conveys the unwieldy weight of the drinkers' gait. The composition was originally conceived with half-length figures, but was later enlarged by Rubens himself. The painting hung in Rubens' house. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):<BR><A HREF="#" onClick="w=window.open ('/music1/19_cent/saint-saens_bacchanal.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350');w.opener=this;w.focus();return true"><B>Camille Saint-Sa�ns: Samson et Delila, Act III, Scene 2, Bacchanal</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> --- Keywords: -------------- Author: RUBENS, Pieter Pauwel Title: The Drunken Silenus Time-line: 1601-1650 School: Flemish Form: painting Type: mythological