Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne

A young man's masterpiece

by Mark HudsonSunday, 20 September 2009

Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-3: Titian’s masterpiece has been endlessly drawn upon by artists down the centuries© National Gallery, London

In 1519 Titian was commissioned by Alfonso d’Este, the famously irascible Duke of Ferrara, to provide the first of three paintings for a study, the so-called camerino d’alabastro or alabaster room. If the following five years of delays and procrastination drove the duke almost to distraction, they produced what is arguably the most famous room in the history of Western art.

People’s eyes light up as soon as they catch sight of it, even if they don’t know precisely what it is.

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