The priestess of Bacchus at the gate of the temple by John William Godward

The mysticism of ancient rituals and the solemnity of sacerdotal figures inspire this vertical composition of great graphic power. Under the title of “The priestess of Bacchus at the gate of the temple”, the scholar of classical art John William Godward stages a young bacchante at the threshold of a temple or a monumental residence. The painting manifests the author’s desire to sacralize the female figure through a hieratic pose and absolute documentary rigor regarding the attributes of Greco-Roman mythology.

A young woman with regular features stands proudly in the center, fixing the viewer with a calm and mysterious gaze. Her dark hair is crowned with intertwined ivy leaves, and she is dressed in a long pleated white stola covered by a large lavender-lilac drapery with majestic folds. With her two lowered hands, she holds horizontally before her a long dark wooden thyrsus topped with a large pine cone. She stands proudly before a gigantic gilded bronze door adorned with large spherical studs and a knocker in the shape of a sculpted lion head on the left, on a polished white marble floor.

The craftsman’s technical skill resplends in the faithful reproduction of the chiseled metallic details and the shine of the patinated bronze. His flawless oil technique gives a matte finish and perfect flatness to the marble blocks while conferring a carnal consistency upon the characters. This meticulous artisanal work demonstrates an uncommon virtuosity.