(Memmingen 1640–1704 Augsburg)
A Bacchanal with Bacchus; and
A Bacchanal with Pan,
oil on canvas, each 63 x 108 cm, framed, a pair (2)

We are grateful to Dr. Peter Königfeld for confirming the attribution on the basis of a photograph. He intends to publish the present paintings in his forthcoming revised monograph on the artist, under cat. no. A83 and A84.

The composition of both paintings refer to, and are inspired by The Andrians by Titian in the Museo del Prado, Madrid (inv. no. P000418) and by the two Bacchanal with putti by Nicolas Poussin in the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica, Palazzo Barberini, Rome. Further details derive from the Triumph of Silenus by Mattia Preti in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Tours (inv. no. 1803-1-28), from the engraving by Mantegna of a Bacchanal with Silenus, an impression of which is conserved in the collection of the Duke of Devonshire of the Chatsworth Settlement Trustees, Chatsworth, England, as well as from the Feast of Bacchus by Gerard de Lairesse in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel (inv. no. GK 462).

With its origins in ancient literature, the iconographic theme of the Bacchanal was especially valued by Italian collectors and by and men of letters of the seventeenth century. The subject enabled the depiction of a procession of supernatural beings that express the joy of life, of drunkenness and sensuality.

An apprentice of Johann Sichelbein (1648-1719) and Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609-1684) by whose style he was profoundly influenced, Johann Heiss began his career in the service of the Duke of Württemberg. He established himself at Augsburg where his passion for erudite subjects, and the realistic rendering of every detail in his works, point to his ties with the city’s Kunstakademie. His style is reminiscent of the Italian followers of Nicolas Poussin (see G. Adriani, Deutsche Malerei im 17. Jahrhundert, Cologne 1977, p. 74, pl. 61) and his allegories, mythological scenes and historical paintings were highly valued by his contemporaries.