Januarius Zick Lot n° 25

Januarius Zick, Bacchus and Ariadne Oil on canvas, doubled. (Circa 1760). 77.3 x 58 cm. Inscribed to the right of Ariadne "ia: Zick fili: inv et pinx:". Framed. An episode from Ovid's Metamorphoses, that inexhaustible treasure trove of dramatic to frivolously suggestive themes from the ancient world of the gods, provides the model for this painting by Zick, which depicts the encounter between Bacchus and Ariadne on the island of Naxos (Ovid, Metamorphoses VIII, 169f.). Ariadne, the shrewd king's daughter of Knossos, thanks to whose ball of wool Theseus had found his way back out of the labyrinth's labyrinths during his fight against the Minotaur, had turned her back on Crete with him. On his way to Athens, Theseus leaves his sleeping companion, to whom he had just promised marriage, behind on Naxos and sails away in haste. Bacchus finds the shamefully abandoned woman as he passes by with his noisy retinue, and takes care of her with "loving embrace" - soon a lavish wedding is celebrated and the first of four sons is born. After her death, Bacchus leads Ariadne from the underworld to Olympus. He pins her wreath to the firmament, immortalizing his beloved as the constellation of the Corona borealis (Northern Crown). The majority of Zick's subjects are religious representations, but he also dealt with ancient history and mythology. Especially in the secular subjects, there is a clear influence of French painting, especially François Boucher. In the center of the picture, Ariadne is reclining in front of a satyr's hermitage. She is looking at the grapes, which are served to her by Bacchus (iconographically unusual are his bock legs). In front of Ariadne, Cupid is depicted as a figure on her back. He observes the meeting and will pin the kindled love with an arrow from his quiver and help Ariadne - even if only in the second attempt - to her "happy end". Counterpart to "Jupiter and Antiope". Strasser G 321. Literature: Othmar Metzger, Januarius Zick. Datierte u. datierbare Gemälde, Munich 1981, pp. 17-21, with ill.; Adelheid Simon and Franz Xaver Schlagberger, Januarius Zick: Germany's Last Major Bourgeois Painter. Fresken, Entwürfe, Tafelbilder, Prüm 1987, pp. 29 ff, with ill.; Josef Straßer, Januarius Zick. 1730-1797, Weißenhorn 1994, p. 410, cat. no. G 321, with col. Fig. (No. 120). Provenance: private property, Düsseldorf, 1936; Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, auction, 29.5.-1.6.1979, lot 265a (as "Jupiter and Antiope"), plate 27; private property, Southern Germany. Taxation: differential taxed (VAT: Margin Scheme).