Bacchus, dancing maenad, and satyr

Copying in the 18th century: The noticeably yellowed paper still shows remnants of the oil in which it was soaked. The oil made the paper transparent. The figures seen here were copied from different design drawings placed beneath. There was a rich stock of workshop materials in Piranesi’s studio from which he and his assistants could cull motifs, combining them to make new designs. This tracing is a particularly impressive example, because the figural motifs were first united on the sheet through the tracing, with adjustments being made in a second step afterwards. Here we see the Roman god Bacchus looking at his entourage, while a maenad plays the tambourine and, beside her, a satyr takes a step towards the right.