Modeled 1904; cast 1925

Bacchus in the Vat

French, 1840 - 1917

Bacchus—the Roman god of wine—was known for his love of drink, dancing, and revelry. Rodin shows him as a giddy figure falling backward into a pot overflowing with wine. The artist was fascinated by half-human, half-animal figures; the god’s cloven hooves and hairy legs seem to suggest that Bacchus’s rowdy behavior makes him not fully human.