Bacchus and Ariadne1808–11 · Study 2013.51

Context from the museum

Henry Bone devoted three years to creating this work, a tremendous technical achievement and the largest enamel on copper that had ever been made. The painstaking process required each application of color to be fired at a different temperature in the kiln. The enamel exactly reproduces Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadne (now in the National Gallery, London), an early sixteenth-century Italian masterpiece that had recently come into an English collection. The elaborate carved and gilded wood frame was specially designed for the work, an indication of the cultural value placed on great enamel reproductions of famous paintings. Bone was unable to show his masterwork at the annual Royal Academy exhibition in 1811 because the Prince of Wales had asked to see it. When the prince decided not to purchase it, Bone issued more than 4,000 tickets for visitors to view the work in his studio.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Henry Bone was known for his enamel paintings created through a laborious process of fusing painted glass to copper and firing at controlled temperatures.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for Bacchus and Ariadne is 46 cm wide and 40.5 cm high, equivalent to approximately 18.1 × 15.9 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.14:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.19 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 15.3% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 127.0 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Bacchus and Ariadne in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, enamel, in original gilt-wood and gesso carved frame, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 46 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?