Homage to Bacchus, studio of Louis de Caullery, 17th century Antwerp

Homage to Bacchus or Allgeory of Fall
Studio of Louis de Caullery (Caullery, vers 1580 - Anvers, 1621/22)
17th century Antwerp school

Oil on oak panel
Dimensions : panel : h. 38 cm, w. 54 cm
Dutch style ebonized frame
Framed: h. 53 cm, w. 68,5 cm

Our work illustrates the allegory of autumn personified by Bacchus and the harvest festival. The theme of the allegories of the seasons has been treated several times in the corpus of works by Louis de Caullery. Associated with Roman deities: Venus for spring, Ceres for summer and Bacchus for autumn, it is an opportunity for the artist to skillfully interweave a mythological subject with a genre scene from the artist's contemporary period. In the context of our painting, the joyful bacchanal in honor of Bacchus, god of excitement, frenzy, enthusiasm and wine, occurs on two registers. The dominant and close-up, but completely fanciful foreground illustrates Bacchus surrounded by adoring villagers, while the second plane bears witness to real life in the Flemish countryside. Thus we first find Bacchus sitting astride a pierced barrel raising his glass filled with red wine, placed on a pedestal against the backdrop of a vine arbor flanked by caryatids, acclaimed by numerous villagers who have come to pay homage to him, give thanks for the harvest and present the offerings of bunches of grapes. While in the background on each side of the arbor, real rural life is illustrated. To the left of the composition, work is in full swing, the grape pickers are working in the vineyards, while the workers are moving prepared barrels. To the right of the composition, a peasant fair brings together villagers in an atmosphere of general jubilation and rural drinking. Festive and joyful, our work enchants with its bright and intense colors, typical of the palette of Louis de Caullery. Far from the feasts in palaces and gardens with refined figures, the artist here gives us rustic life in the countryside with its joys and celebrations and simple people in their daily existence. Inspired by the eloquent realism of Pieter Brueghel the Elder's popular festivals, Louis de Caullery shapes his genre scenes with a subtle blend of grotesque and sophistication that had earned him remarkable success with his Antwerp and European clientele.

Related works:
- Workshop of Louis de Caullery, series of three paintings: Homage to Venus, Ceres, Bacchus, circa 1617-1620, Rosenborg Castle, Danish Royal Collection, Copenhagen, Denmark, commissioned from Louis de Caullery by King Christian IV of Norway and Denmark (1577-1648)
- Louis de Caullery, Homage to Bacchus, oil on panel h. 42 cm, l. 61 cm, public sale 18/06/1980 Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, lot n 506
- Louis de Caullery, Homage to Bacchus, Homage to Venus, oil on panel h. 44.5 cm, l. 61 cm, public sale 23/5/1985, Galerie Fisher, Luzern, Switzerland
- Louis de Caullery, Homage to Ceres, Homage to Venus, oil on panel h. 53 cm, l. 67 cm, public sale 18/05/2014, Lempertz, Cologne

Louis de Caullery (Caullery, circa 1580 - Antwerp, 1621/22)
This Flemish master is said to have been born around 1580 in the Cambrai region. From 1593/1594 he became a pupil of the Antwerp landscape painter Joos de Momper. A member of the Guild of Saint Luke from 1604, Louis de Caullery seems to have been active in Flanders throughout his life, although he had a great knowledge of different European cultures. He is mainly credited with genre scenes: carnivals, banquets, festivals, gardens of love populated by numerous figures.