c. 1785-1790

Bacchus and Ariadne on Naxos

Italian (active Rome), 1750 - 1799

Although many late-eighteenth-century drawings recording fully developed compositions were studies for paintings, it is more likely that this sheet was produced as a finished work in its own right, a practice for which Cades was known. The subject is from Roman mythology, showing Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry, rescuing the Cretan princess Ariadne, who had been abandoned by her ungrateful lover Theseus on the island of Naxos.