William Bouguereau created two versions of Bacchante: One in 1889 and one in 1884 – He also created another depicting Bacchante riding upon the back of a panther. This version of Bacchante was his first and is far less erotic than the latter two: A more classical and chaste depiction of one of the female Priestesses of Bacchus who was of course the Roman God of wine and merriment. Bacchantes in Greek mythology were known as Maenads who were rather wild in their antics: Not at all averse to running drunk and delirious through the forests – Hence this is probably why Bouguereau decided to depict his latter versions of Bacchante in a far more wild and erotic light. Nevertheless, this version has its own merits and as such is more classically and traditionally refined.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau was renowned as an academic, classical and traditional painter. This oil painting reveals his absolute mastery of the female form and the realist style. He was apt to create oil paintings based upon mythological themes, as is this work. While his art work is generally considered to be outside of modern art his work remains highly popular today. This is because classical fantasy has a way of continuing to be relative and readable and in this way timeless. Therefore, for those searching for this type of timeless wall art that is extremely hard to tire of the reproduction of Bouguereau’s Bacchante would indeed be a top choice.