Birth of Bacchus Gm-00050501

Giulio Romano (Giulio Pippi) (Italian, before 1499–1546) While the winds belch fire, Jupiter opens the mortal womb of his lover Semele with a thunderbolt and snatches forth the baby god Bacchus. His love for Semele had enraged his wife the goddess Juno, who swore to destroy her. Disguised as Semele's old nurse, Juno tricked Semele into asking Jupiter to come to her in all his splendor. Thus Jupiter's godly presence set Semele's frail human body on fire. After Giulio Romano completed this preparatory drawing, it was squared so that his assistants could copy it onto another surface. Inventories show that Giulio made a painting with a similar subject for the ducal palace in Mantua to celebrate the birth of a Gonzaga prince in 1533, the son of Giulio's patron Federico Gonzaga. He may have made this drawing as a study for another painting of the same subject, now in the Getty Museum.

High Quality Wood Framed Print using museum quality paper and archival inks with a mat for a contemporary look. Comes with Acrylite glazing and hanging hardware. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Stretched Canvas is stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed on heavy cotton poly matte finish canvas. Comes with mounting brackets. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

Giclee Prints are printed on 250 gsm Matte Paper with the finest archival inks. Each print carries a white border around the perimeter. The listed size refers to the overall paper dimensions. The image is printed proportionally within this paper size and includes a small white border. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea.