Artwork Details
- Title
- Silenus and the Infant Bacchus
- Artist
- Praxiteles c. 400-330 BCE
- Year
- 4th Century BCE, cast 1885
- Medium
- Bronze, on granite base
- Dimensions
- Height 6'1", width 2'8", depth 2'7" (base height 4'3", width 4'3", depth 4'2 1/2")
Artwork Description
Considered one of the masterpieces of antiquity, this sculptural group was originally carved in marble by Praxiteles, a renowned ancient Greek Attic sculptor. In Greek mythology Silenus is known as the chief of the satyrs’, a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus who roamed the woods and mountains. He is holding his foster son, Bacchus, the god of wine, who is crowned with grape leaves.
This bronze reproduction, purchased by the Association for Public Art (then known as Fairmount Park Art Association) in 1885, was cast from the original in the Louvre by the Barbedienne Foundry in Paris.
Artwork Credits
Purchased by Association for Public Art (formerly Fairmount Park Art Association)
Owned by the City of Philadelphia