Collection

2002 BACCHUS and ARIADNE

MICHAEL TRIEGEL
(1968 in Erfurt, works in Leipzig)
Bacchus and Ariadne, 2002
Oil on canvas, triptych. 160.5 × 60 cm / 160.5 × 90 cm / 160.5 × 60 cm.

Left side wing signed and dated lower right. Center panel and side panel each signed, dated and titled verso: Bacchus & Ariadne I (Ariadne) / Bacchus & Ariadne
I| / Bacchus & Ariadne III (Theseus).
Provenance: Private collection, USA (acquired from Worthington Gallery, Chicago)

The left wing shows Ariadne, abandoned on Naxos. In a calm, almost Madonna-like pose, she sits on the shore, surrounded by nature. The red thread – a reference to the labyrinth and her connection to Theseus – runs as a central motif through all three panels. It becomes a symbol of attachment, fate and memory. Triegel models the figure with old-masterly precision: the incarnation, materiality and lighting reveal his intensive engagement with both the Italian Renaissance and the Leipzig painting tradition.
The apotheosis appears in the central picture: Bacchus and Ariadne float up into the sky as a mythological couple. Bacchus with an ivy wreath, Ariadne blindfolded – a motif that oscillates between trust, devotion and blindness. Below them is a scene with putti, flowers and a stone sarcophagus whose reliefs have antique echoes. The rainbow in the background refers to transcendence, covenant and transformation. In its austerity and brilliance of color, the composition is reminiscent of Venetian models, but is brought into the present through subtle breaks – such as the play with lines of sight and symbols.