Gerard Thomas (Antwerp 1663 – 1720)?
after a model by Simon de Vos (Antwerp 1603-1670)
The Drunken Bacchus
Oil on canvas, 69.4 x 86.8 cm
The painting shows a band of drinkers headed by the corpulent Bacchus with two satyrs revelling around a table laden with delicacies (oysters, a lobster, a squash). The iconography of the god of wine and the various themes connected with him was a favourite subject from the Renaissance onwards. It often has an allegorical or moralising significance, which in our case can be read as an admonition against earthly pleasures and vanity.
