Triumph of Bacchus
by MOEYAERT, Claes Cornelisz., Oil on panel, 53 x 83 cm
Claes Moeyaert belonged to the small group categorized as Pre-Rembrandtists. The group includes Pieter Lastman (c. 1583-1633), Jan Pynas (1581⁄2-1631) and his younger brother Jacob (1592⁄95-after 1656), their brother-in-law Jan Tengnagel (1584-1635), Lastman’s brother-in-law Fran�ois Venant (1590⁄91-1636), and Moeyaert.
Moeyaert early works are a ‘potpourri’ of Lastman, Jacob Pynas, and Bril. He found his speciality in the mid-1620s: small pictures of bacchanals characterized by a silver-gray tonality. The animals in his lusty processions usually have as much character as the revellers who accompany them.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):
Camille Saint-Saëns: Samson et Delila, Act III, Scene 2, Bacchanal