DYCK, Sir Anthony van (attributed by)Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs

The art of drinking …

in paintings

The annunciation, the nativity, the portraiture of aristocrats and monarchs, even the nude – art historians have devoted weighty studies to them all.

But the representation of drinking in the visual arts usually elicits sniggers rather than scholarly contemplation.

The Romans were in thrall to Bacchus (as they called Dionysus). He often appears, with or without his uproarious retinue, in sculptures, wall paintings, and mosaics.

With the revival of antiquity’s pagan worldview during the Renaissance, drink became an important subject for artists once again. Before he created his spellbinding Pieta, Michelangelo sculpted a lewd and tipsy Bacchus.

In The Andrians, in the Prado, Titian returned to this drinking theme, representing a group of revellers dancing and lying beside a river of wine on the island of Andros.

Almost a century later, Rubens painted his infamous Silenus, the bald, bearded, pot-bellied tutor and companion of Dionysus, stumbling along with drunken difficulty. In London’s National Gallery, a similarly corpulent and gloriously wasted Silenus slumps, supported by satyrs, in a related canvas, possibly executed in Rubens’s studio...

DYCK, Sir Anthony van (attributed by)Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs

Ancient Greek religion even devoted an entire deity to drinking, Dionysos, the god of wine, ecstasy, and fertility. He himself had a gaggle of lush friends and followers.

The drunkest of them all was Silenus, who was mythologized to possess valuable prophetic powers, despite the fact that he was almost always depicted as so drunk he couldn’t stand straight.

In Roman culture, these gods of became Bacchus and Silvanus, who were depicted much like their Greek counterparts, but became known for even worse debauchery.

DYCK, Sir Anthony van (attributed by)Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs1620Oil on canvas, 133.5 x 197 cmNational Gallery, London

DYCK, Sir Anthony van (attributed by)Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs (detail)1620Oil on canvas, 133.5 x 197 cmNational Gallery, London

DYCK, Sir Anthony van (attributed by)Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs (detail)1620Oil on canvas, 133.5 x 197 cmNational Gallery, London

DYCK, Sir Anthony van (attributed by)Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs (detail)1620Oil on canvas, 133.5 x 197 cmNational Gallery, London

DYCK, Sir Anthony van (attributed by)Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs (detail)1620Oil on canvas, 133.5 x 197 cmNational Gallery, London

In this majestic baroque painting, he is so drunk he can't stand up straight. As satyrs gladly support his weight, his massive body slumps in a rollicking landscape of sweat, wrinkles and abandon. He is utterly happy in his humiliation, at one with nature itself as he partakes of the grape, lost in visions of the divine that come to him in his drunken state.

The painting is thought to have been executed in Rubens' studio. The sky and landscape are probably by Jan Wildens, and the foliage and fruit by Frans Snijders. The design of the figures may have been executed by a member of the studio, possibly Van Dyck, and then reworked by Rubens himself. The composition derives in part from a work of a similar subject by Rubens, 'The March of Silenus' (Munich, Alte Pinakothek).

TIZIANO VecellioBacchanal of the Andrians

Drunkenness has never looked as beautiful as it does in Titian's painting of a wine-fuelled party in the open air.

These drinkers conduct their antics with a magical grace. The dancers do not fall over. The wine jug balanced on a man's hand does not go flying. Wine has freed everyone from inhibition and made them amorous.

In vino veritas. These drinkers do not yell at each other, vomit or pass out. Instead they all seem to be falling in love. One woman lies in a naked ecstasy as wine unleashes her passion.

TIZIANO VecellioBacchanal of the Andrians1523-24Oil on canvas, 175 x 193 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

TIZIANO VecellioBacchanal of the Andrians (detail)1523-24Oil on canvas, 175 x 193 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

TIZIANO VecellioBacchanal of the Andrians (detail)1523-24Oil on canvas, 175 x 193 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

TIZIANO VecellioBacchanal of the Andrians (detail)1523-24Oil on canvas, 175 x 193 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

TIZIANO VecellioBacchanal of the Andrians (detail)1523-24Oil on canvas, 175 x 193 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

TIZIANO VecellioBacchanal of the Andrians (detail)1523-24Oil on canvasMuseo del Prado, Madrid

Titian was not afraid to depict humorously the more drastic aspects of the bacchanal.

VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva yThe Feast of Bacchus (Los borrachos)

Drunkenness was regarded in Spain as a contemptible vice and "borracho" (drunkard) was the most scathing of insults. At the royal court, it seems to have been considered highly entertaining to invite low-lifers from the comedy theatres and inebriate them for the amusement of the ladies.

Like a modern conceptual photographic artwork Velázquez it imagines that the ancient god Bacchus has come to earth in early-modern Spain. Instead of the satyrs and maenads who follow him in the old stories, Bacchus is surrounded by scruffy boozers.

VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva yThe Feast of Bacchus (Los borrachos)1628 - 1629Oil on canvas, 165 x 225 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva yThe Feast of Bacchus (Los borrachos) (detail)1628 - 1629Oil on canvas, 165 x 225 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva yThe Feast of Bacchus (Los borrachos) (detail)1628 - 1629Oil on canvas, 165 x 225 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva yThe Feast of Bacchus (Los borrachos) (detail)1628 - 1629Oil on canvas, 165 x 225 cmMuseo del Prado, Madrid

RUBENS, Peter PaulThe Drunken Silenus

In Greek mythology Silenus is a rural god, one of the retinue of Bacchus, a gay, fat old drunkard who was yet wise and had the gift of prophecy.

In Rubens' painting he is shown drunkenly tottering, his belly swollen with meat and drink, and supported by a disparate collection of dotards, drunkards, blacks, children and young women. The careless inebriation of this bacchanal is expressed by a thicker touch that conveys the unwieldy weight of the drinkers' gait.

RUBENS, Peter PaulThe Drunken Silenus1616-17Oil on wood, 212 x 214,5 cmAlte Pinakothek, Munich

RUBENS, Peter PaulThe Drunken Silenus (detail)1616-17Oil on wood, 212 x 214,5 cmAlte Pinakothek, Munich

RUBENS, Peter PaulThe Drunken Silenus (detail)1616-17Oil on wood, 212 x 214,5 cmAlte Pinakothek, Munich

RUBENS, Peter PaulThe Drunken Silenus (detail)1616-17Oil on wood, 212 x 214,5 cmAlte Pinakothek, Munich

CARAVAGGIOBacchus

Bacchus, Roman god of wine and ecstatic parties, is depicted by Caravaggio as a youthful, blushing boy. Proffering a glass of wine to the viewer we are invited into an un-godly scene.

Decaying fruit and wilting flowers decorate a strangely androgynous teenager scantily clad in his bed sheet. Caravaggio made no attempt to uphold the purported godly illusion; the ripples in the wine held out by the boy suggest the tremble of his hand and he has dirt under his fingernails.

CARAVAGGIOBacchusc. 1596Oil on canvas, 95 x 85 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

CARAVAGGIOBacchus (detail)c. 1596Oil on canvas, 95 x 85 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

CARAVAGGIOBacchus (detail)c. 1596Oil on canvas, 95 x 85 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

CARAVAGGIOBacchus (detail)c. 1596Oil on canvas, 95 x 85 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

CARAVAGGIOBacchus (detail)c. 1596Oil on canvas, 95 x 85 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

MANET, EdouardAt the Café (Bock Drinkers)

The style known now as bock was a dark, malty, lightly hopped ale first brewed in the 14th century by German brewers in the Hanseatic town of Einbeck.

The style from Einbeck was later adopted by Munich brewers in the 17th century and adapted to the new lager style of brewing. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced "Einbeck" as "ein Bock" ("a billy goat"), and thus the beer became known as "bock".

MANET, EdouardAt the Café (Bock Drinkers)1878Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 cmWalters Art Museum, Baltimore

MANET, EdouardAt the Café (Bock Drinkers) (detail)1878Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 cmWalters Art Museum, Baltimore

MANET, EdouardAt the Café (Bock Drinkers) (detail)1878Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 cmWalters Art Museum, Baltimore

MANET, EdouardAt the Café (Bock Drinkers) (detail)1878Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 cmWalters Art Museum, Baltimore

MANET, EdouardAt the Café (Bock Drinkers) (detail)1878Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 cmWalters Art Museum, Baltimore

DEGAS, EdgarAbsinthe Drinkers

Two figures sat side-by-side, staring in silent isolation droop in front of their glasses of absinthe.

The painting was released to a muted response; some thought it was a condemnation of the eponymous green spirit, which was discovered to be so harmful it was later prohibited, others thought the painting was a representation of the increasing social isolation in Paris during its period of rapid growth.

Either way critics called it “ugly and disgusting”.

DEGAS, EdgarAbsinthe Drinkers1876Oil on canvas, 92 x 68 cmMusée d'Orsay, Paris

DEGAS, EdgarAbsinthe Drinkers (detail)1876Oil on canvas, 92 x 68 cmMusée d'Orsay, Paris

DEGAS, EdgarAbsinthe Drinkers (detail)1876Oil on canvas, 92 x 68 cmMusée d'Orsay, Paris

DEGAS, EdgarAbsinthe Drinkers (detail)1876Oil on canvas, 92 x 68 cmMusée d'Orsay, Paris

GOGH, Vincent vanCafé Table with Absinthe

Van Gogh painted this café table with a view in highly thinned oil paint with thin brushes. This technique is called peinture à l’essence. The result looks something like a watercolour.

The glass holds absinthe, a popular aperitif. Its alcohol content was 60 to 70%, and it was often mixed with water. Van Gogh drank it frequently.

There are theories that Gogh cut his ear after having drunk too much. His use of yellow can also be attributed to his absinthe-absent-mindedness. Same applies to Gauguin. Do we owe his bright colours to absinthe, too???!!!!

GOGH, Vincent vanCafé Table with AbsintheParis, February - March 1887Oil on canvas, 46.3 cm x 33.2 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

GOGH, Vincent vanCafé Table with Absinthe (detail)Paris, February - March 1887Oil on canvas, 46.3 cm x 33.2 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

GOGH, Vincent vanCafé Table with Absinthe (detail)Paris, February - March 1887Oil on canvas, 46.3 cm x 33.2 cm Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

PICASSO, Pablo The Absinthe Drinker

In France absinthe became called “La Fée Verte”, meaning “The Green Fairy”, a fairy who drives a man into a hypnotic state.

Especially that absinthe had this reputation of an addictive, mind-altering drink which could transport men into mysterious psychological states. Although this psychoactive effect is contested nowadays, in the 19th century it was the drink of writers, painters and the intellectual crème de la crème of Paris who believed in its magical quality.

PICASSO, Pablo The Absinthe Drinker1901Oil on canvas, 54 x 73 cmHermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

PICASSO, Pablo The Absinthe Drinker (detail)1901Oil on canvas, 54 x 73 cmHermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

PICASSO, Pablo The Absinthe Drinker (detail)1901Oil on canvas, 54 x 73 cmHermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

PICASSO, Pablo The Absinthe Drinker (detail)1901Oil on canvas, 54 x 73 cmHermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

PICASSO, Pablo The Absinthe Drinker (detail)1901Oil on canvas, 54 x 73 cmHermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri deAt the Moulin Rouge

Most of the avant-guarde artists drank absinthe. Among them there were Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, Surrealists, Cubists… They spent many evenings in bars and cafes drinking absinthe and discussing art, politics and literature.

They also had their own recipes for cocktails. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was famous for a drink called “The Earthquake”, a potent cocktail made of half absinthe and half cognac, sometimes served with ice or shaken in a shaker filled with ice.. Imagine the hangover.

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri deAt the Moulin Rouge1892-93Oil on canvas, 123 x 141 cmArt Institute, Chicago

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri deAt the Moulin Rouge (detail)1892-93Oil on canvas, 123 x 141 cmArt Institute, Chicago

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri deAt the Moulin Rouge (detail)1892-93Oil on canvas, 123 x 141 cmArt Institute, Chicago

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri deAt the Moulin Rouge (detail)1892-93Oil on canvas, 123 x 141 cmArt Institute, Chicago

The art of drinking…in paintings

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“A lady came up to me one day and said ‘Sir! You are drunk’, to which I replied ‘I am drunk today madam, and tomorrow I shall be sober, but you will still be ugly.”~ Winston S. Churchill

“An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”~ Ernest Hemingway

“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is Freedom, in water there is bacteria.”~ Benjamin Franklin

“My dear girl, there are some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Perignon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!”~ Goldfinger (1964), Sean Connery as James Bond

“When alchemists first learned how to distill spirits, they called it aqua vitae, the water of life, and far from considering it the work of the devil, they thought the discovery was divinely inspired.”~ Gene Logsdon, Good Spirits.