In a composition, alive with naked, twisting bodies, the story of Bacchus's birth unfolds as a wry commentary on the perils of passion. On discovering that the supreme god Jupiter had impregnated the young mortal Semele, Jupiter’s wife, Juno, hatched a plan to end the love affair. Disguised as Semele's nurse, and knowing that Jupiter's lightning and thunder were lethal, Juno persuaded Semele to ask Jupiter to visit her “in all his glory” so that she could be absolutely certain of his identity. Here, Semele gives birth to Bacchus, who falls into the arms of nymphs below while his mother’s body is consumed by flames. From the top of the clouds, Juno looks apprehensively at her husband, who is armed with thunderbolts, her raised hand and furrowed brow signaling uncertainty and perhaps regret over her violent revenge.
This scene was originally conceived as part of a series of paintings depicting mythological love stories for Federico Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (reigned 1530 – 1540). Giulio Romano acted as architect for the ducal palace, the Palazzo del Tè, and later became artist to the Mantuan court. While the design of the series was conceived by Giulio himself, it is likely that this work was executed with the help of workshop assistants. The artist’s interest in this subject matter is demonstrated by a drawing of the same subject which is also in the collection of the Getty Museum and illustrates a different composition from that of the painting.
We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.
Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.
Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.
Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..
Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.
Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.
Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)
All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.
Questions? Please email service@archivea.com or call/text +41 79 265 8891.
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 GmbH.
