Where Is Untitled (Bacchus)? See It at Tate Modern, London

Q: Who was Bacchus?

Bacchus (Greek: Dionysus) was the god of wine, fertility, and ritual madness. His worship involved ecstatic dancing and intoxication. Twombly evokes this frenzy through gesture.

Q: How did Twombly make the loops?

The 80-year-old Twombly swung his arm from the shoulder, creating each loop with his whole body. The physical movement becomes visible in the painted marks.

Q: What does Untitled (Bacchus) depict?

Cy Twombly's the painting references Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine, ecstasy, and creative frenzy.Twombly was nearly 80 when he painted this series, but the energy suggests explosive vitality. The looping marks were made by swinging his arm from the shoulder, almost dancing.

Cy Twombly's Untitled (Bacchus) from 2005 shows red loops cascading down a white canvas like wine or blood. The painting references Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine, ecstasy, and creative frenzy.

Twombly was nearly 80 when he painted this series, but the energy suggests explosive vitality. The looping marks were made by swinging his arm from the shoulder, almost dancing. The result captures Dionysian abandon through pure gesture. It hangs at Tate Modern.

Bacchus (Greek: Dionysus) was the god of wine, fertility, and ritual madness. His worship involved ecstatic dancing and intoxication. Twombly evokes this frenzy through gesture.

The 80-year-old Twombly swung his arm from the shoulder, creating each loop with his whole body. The physical movement becomes visible in the painted marks.

Cy Twombly's the painting references Bacchus (Dionysus), god of wine, ecstasy, and creative frenzy.Twombly was nearly 80 when he painted this series, but the energy suggests explosive vitality. The looping marks were made by swinging his arm from the shoulder, almost dancing.

Untitled (Bacchus)

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Cy Twombly

Quattro Stagioni (Four Seasons)

Also at Tate Modern, London

Mrs George Augustus Frederick Cavendish Bentinck and her Children

Lightning with Stag in its Glare

Lobster Telephone

Nebuchadnezzar

About Untitled (Bacchus)

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