The Feast of the Gods

1514/1529

Giovanni Bellini

Painter, Venetian, c. 1430/1435 - 1516

Titian

Painter, Venetian, 1488/1490 - 1576

Six women, eight men, two satyrs, and one child gather in pairs and trios in a loose row that spans the width of this nearly square painting. They are set within a landscape with craggy rocks, cliffs, and trees. Most of the people face us, and the men, women, and child have pale skin. The two satyrs have men’s torsos and furry goat’s legs, and they have darker, olive complexions. Most of the men wear voluminous, knee-length togas wrapped in short robes in shades of white, topaz blue, grass green, coral orange, or rose pink. Most of the women wear long, dress-like garments in tones of shell pink, apricot orange, or lapis blue over white sleeves. For all but one woman, their garments have fallen off one shoulder to reveal a round, firm breast. Several objects are strewn on the rocky, dirt ground in front of the group, including a wide, wooden bucket with a piece of paper affixed to its front to our right, a glass goblet, a pitchfork, a large blue and white ceramic dish filled with grapes and small yellow fruits, and an overturned cup near the center. Cliff-like, craggy rocks rise steeply behind the group to our left, filling much of the sky opposite a tall grove of leafy, dark green trees to our right. A few puffy white clouds float across the vivid blue sky. The slip of paper on the barrel has been inscribed, “joannes bellinus venetus p MDXIIII.”

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No one parties like the gods—at least not like the mythological ones in this painting, a collaboration by the Renaissance artists Giovanni Bellini and Titian. The picture was the first in a series of bacchanals commissioned by Duke Alfonso d’Este to decorate the camerino d’alabastro (alabaster study) of his castle in Ferrara. It’s based on a scene from Ovid’s Fasti, a poem in Latin. At this banquet, Jupiter, Neptune, and Apollo feast in the woods as nymphs and satyrs attend to their every desire. Priapus, the god of fertility, inappropriately lifts the dress of the sleeping nymph Lotis. Dark trees provide both privacy to the scandalous affair and depth to the composition.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 17

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 170.2 x 188 cm (67 x 74 in.)
    framed: 203.8 x 218.4 x 7.6 cm (80 1/4 x 86 x 3 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.9.1

More About this Artwork

Six women, eight men, two satyrs, and one child gather in pairs and trios in a loose row that spans the width of this nearly square painting. They are set within a landscape with craggy rocks, cliffs, and trees. Most of the people face us, and the men, women, and child have pale skin. The two satyrs have men’s torsos and furry goat’s legs, and they have darker, olive complexions. Most of the men wear voluminous, knee-length togas wrapped in short robes in shades of white, topaz blue, grass green, coral orange, or rose pink. Most of the women wear long, dress-like garments in tones of shell pink, apricot orange, or lapis blue over white sleeves. For all but one woman, their garments have fallen off one shoulder to reveal a round, firm breast. Several objects are strewn on the rocky, dirt ground in front of the group, including a wide, wooden bucket with a piece of paper affixed to its front to our right, a glass goblet, a pitchfork, a large blue and white ceramic dish filled with grapes and small yellow fruits, and an overturned cup near the center. Cliff-like, craggy rocks rise steeply behind the group to our left, filling much of the sky opposite a tall grove of leafy, dark green trees to our right. A few puffy white clouds float across the vivid blue sky. The slip of paper on the barrel has been inscribed, “joannes bellinus venetus p MDXIIII.”

Interactive Article:  Layers of Power in "The Feast of the Gods"

At first glance, this painting looks like a great party. But it’s more complicated than that. 

Video:  Bellini and Titian's "Feast of the Gods" (ASL)

This video provides an ASL description of Bellini and Titian's painting, Feast of the Gods. 

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Probably commissioned by Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara [d. 1534);[1] by inheritance to his son, Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara [d. 1559]; by inheritance to his son, Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara [d. 1597]; by inheritance to his cousin, Cesare d'Este, Duke of Ferrara; confiscated 1598 from the Castello at Ferrara by Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini [d. 1621], Rome, when he was acting as Papal Legate and recorded in his inventory of 1603; by inheritance to his nephew, Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini [d. 1638], Rome, and recorded in his inventory of 1626; by inheritance to his niece, Olimpia Aldobrandini Borghese Pamphilj [d. 1681], Rome, and recorded in her pre-1665 inventory and 1682 posthumous inventory; by inheritance to her son, Giovan Battista Pamphilj Aldobrandini [d. 1710], Rome;[2] Aldobrandini heirs, until the line became extinct in 1760;[3] by inheritance 1769 to Paolo Borghese Aldobrandini [d. 1792], Rome; by inheritance to his nephew, Giovan Battista Borghese Aldobrandini [d. 1802], Rome; purchased 1796/1797 by Pietro Camuccini [1761-1833] for the collection of his brother, Vincenzo Camuccini [1771-1844], Rome;[4] presumably by inheritance to Vincenzo's son, Giovanni Battista Camuccini [1819-1904], Rome; sold 1853 with the entire Camuccini collection through Antonio Giacinto Saverio, Count Cabral, Rome,[5] to Algernon Percy, 4th duke of Northumberland [1792-1865], Alnwick Castle, Northumberland; by inheritance to his cousin, George Percy, 5th duke of Northumberland [1778-1867], Alnwick Castle; by inheritance to his son, Algernon George Percy, 6th duke of Northumberland [1810-1899], Alnwick Castle; by inheritance to his son, Henry George Percy, 7th duke of Northumberland 1846-1918], Alnwick Castle; sold 16 June 1916 to (Thomas Agnew & Sons, London) on joint account with (Arthur J. Sulley and Co., London);[6] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after purchase in 1921 by funds of the estate;[7] gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Possibly commissioned by his sister Isabella d'Este; final payment made to Bellini by Alfonso in 1514; painting located in Camerino d'Alabastro of the Castello until 1598.
[2] Giovan was the son of Olimpia Aldobrandini by her second marriage, to Camillo Pamphili; upon his inheritance, Giovan changed his name to Aldobrandini. His brother Cardinal Benedetto [d. 1730] also inherited some paintings.
[3] In 1760, the paintings were involved in a lawsuit between the Colonna and Borghese, and were settled on the second son of the head of the Borghese in 1769.
[4] Jaynie Anderson, "The Provenance of Bellini's Feast of the Gods and a New/Old Interpretation," Studies in the History of Art 45, Symposium Papers 25 (1993): 271.
[5] Cabral was Northumberland's attorney in Rome; he negotiated the transaction with Camuccini; a seal with what is probably his coat-of-arms is on the back of the painting. See Anderson 1993, 269-270.
[6] The painting is number J1755 in Agnew's records (see Thos. Agnew & Sons, Picture Stock Book, 1904-1933, Section 2 [which records paintings purchased jointly by Agnew and a partner]; NGA27/1/1/10, Research Centre, National Gallery, London; copy in NGA curatorial files; digitized and available at https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/research/research-centre/agnews-stock-books, accessed 17 May 2017).
[7] Although the painting was exhibited in 1920 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as from the collection of Carl W. Hamilton, New York, he probably only had it on credit, as he had many paintings from Duveen Brothers, Inc. on the same basis. According to a history of the Widener collection written by Edith Standen, the Widener curator, Joseph Widener "would not have the Bellini listed as having passed through the Carl Hamilton Collection...because, he said, Mr. Hamilton never completed the payments on it." She also wrote that Widener "said the Duke of Northumberland tried to sell him the picture before World War I." (Handwritten manuscript and typed copy, Edith Standen Papers, Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, Washington; copy in NGA curatorial files.)
The painting is not recorded as sold in Agnew's records until 1922 (see note 6). However, Arthur Sulley appears to have handled the sale to Widener. Sulley wrote to the collector about the painting in 1917, and his letter of 26 September 1921 to Widener states that the painting will be delivered around 10 October 1921 (both letters in NGA curatorial files).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1856

  • British Institution, London, 1856, no. 48, as The Gods feasting on the Fruits of the Earth.

1920

  • Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1920, unnumbered catalogue.

1990

  • Tiziano [NGA title: Titian: Prince of Painters], Palazzo Ducale, Venice; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1990-1991, no. 19, repro.

2003

  • Titian, The National Gallery, London; Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2003, no. 15, repro.

2006

  • Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 2006-2007, no. 32, repro., fig. 7 in brochure.

2018

  • Mantegna and Bellini, The National Gallery, London; Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2018-2019, fig. 226.

Bibliography

1865

  • Hartshorne, Rev. C.H. A Guide to Alnwick Castle. London, 1865: 62.

1923

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1930

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R., ed. Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. London, 1930: n.p., pl. 18.

1931

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 106, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1935

  • Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935: 73, repro. (English ed., Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York, 1939: 73, repro.).

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 5, as by Giovanni Bellini.

1944

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1944: 62, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1948

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 14, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1951

  • Einstein, Lewis. Looking at Italian Pictures in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1951: 74-78, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1956

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1956: 24, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1957

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 45.

1960

  • The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 6, as by Giovanni Bellini.

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Later Italian Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1960 (Booklet Number Six in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.): 22, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 144, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 12, as by Giovanni Bellini.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:154, color repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 5, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

  • Gandolfo, Giampaolo et al. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World. New York, 1968: 12, 34, 36-37, color repro.

1971

  • Hope, Charles. "The 'Camerini d'Alabastro' of Alfonso d'Este." The Burlington Magazine 113 (1971): 641, 645-646, n. 34, n. 38.

1972

  • Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, MA, 1972: 23, 203, 646.

1973

  • Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 93, 97 repro.

1974

  • Fehl, Philipp. "The Worship of Bacchus and Venus in Bellini's and Titian's Bacchanals for Alfonso d'Este." Studies in the History of Art vol. 6 (1974):38, 42-55, 58, 61, 79, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 22, repro., as by Giovanni Bellini.

1979

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: 1:38-47; 2:pl. 26, 26A, 26B.

  • Watson, Ross.The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 29, pl. 13.

  • Sutton, Denys. "Robert Langton Douglas. Part III." Apollo 109 (June 1979): 431-431 [149-150].

1982

  • Alsop, Joseph. The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared. Bollingen series 35, no. 27. New York, 1982: 92, fig. 34.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 201, no. 239, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 41, repro.

  • Ford, Brinsley. "Pictures lost to the Nation." NACF Magazine 29 (Christmas 1985): 15, repro.

1990

  • Bull, David and Plesters, Joyce. "The Feast of the Gods: Conservation, Examination, and Interpretation." Studies in the History of Art 40 (1990).

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 198, 203, color repro.

  • Gingold, Diane J., and Elizabeth A.C. Weil. The Corporate Patron. New York, 1991: 91-92, 164-165, 200-201, color repro.

  • Colantuono, Anthony. "_Dies Alcyoniae: The Invention of Bellini's Feast of the Gods." The Art Bulletin 73 (June 1991): 237-256, fig. 1.

1992

  • Rearick, W. R. "From Arcady to the Barnyard." Studies in the History of Art 36 (1992): repro. no. 17.

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 31, repro.

  • Tempestini, Anchise. Giovanni Bellini: catalogo completo dei dipinti. Florence, 1992: 9, 290-295, no. 103.

1993

  • Anderson, Jaynie. "The Provenance of Bellini's Feast of the Gods and a New/Old Interpretation." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 264-287, repro. no. 10.

  • Brown, David Alan. "The Pentimenti in The Feast of the Gods." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 288-299, repro. no. 1, 2, 5, 7, 10.

  • Bull, David. "The Feast of the Gods: Conservation and Investigation." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 366-373, repro. no. 1-4, 6-9.

  • Holberton, Paul. "The Pastorale or Fete champetre in the Early Sixteenth Century." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 245-255, repro. no. 9.

  • Plesters, Joyce. "Examination of Giovanni Bellini's Feast of the Gods: A Summary and Interpretation of the Results." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 374-391, repro. no. 1, 2.

  • Sheard, Wendy Stedman. "Antonio Lombardo's Reliefs for Alfonso d'Este's Studio di Marmi: Their Significance and Impact on Titian." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 317, 320.

  • Manca, Joseph. "What is Ferrarese about Bellini's Feast of the Gods?" Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993):300-313, repro. no. 1, 2.

  • Steinberg, Arthur. "Blurred Bloundaries, Opulent Nature, and Sensuous Flesh: Changing Technological Styles in Venetian Painting, 1480-1520." Studies in the History of Art 45 (1993): 212-213.

  • Brigstocke, Hugh. Italian and Spanish Paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland. 3rd ed. Edinburgh, 1993: 34.

  • Gagliardi, Jacques. La conquête de la peinture: L’Europe des ateliers du XIIIe au XVe siècle. Paris, 1993: 566, 772, fig. 980.

1995

  • Humphrey, Peter. Painting in Venice. New Haven, 1995: 144-146, col. fig. 104.

  • Bettagno, Alessandro, and Giorgio Fossaluzza. “Interpretazioni del paesaggio nella pittura veneta.” In Alessandro Bettagno, ed. Natura e arte nel paesaggio veneto. Dalle interpretazioni pittoriche alle immagine fotografiche. Turin, 1995: 168-169, figs. 69-70.

1996

  • Tansey, Richard G. and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 10th ed. Fort Worth, 1996: 776-777, color fig. 23.57.

1997

  • Wilkins, David G. and Bernard Schultz and Katheryn M. Linduff. Art Past-Art Present, New York, 1997, no. 6-3, repro.

  • Goffen, Rona. Titian's Women. New Haven and London, 1997: no. 67, repro.

1998

  • Gibson, Sarah S. "Bacchnalia/Orgy." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. Edited by Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 1:100.

  • Cheney, Liana de Girolami. "Love and Death." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, edited by Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago, 1998: 1:527.

  • Humfrey, Peter, and Maruo Lucco. Dosso Dossi. Court Painter in Renaissance Ferrara. Edited by Andrea Bayer. Exh. cat. Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Ferrara; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 1998-1999. New York, 1998: 30, fig. 18, 31.

  • Tempestini, Anchise. Bellini e Belliniani in Romagna. Florence, 1998: 94.

2000

  • Christiansen, Keith. "Dosso Dossi's Aeneas Frieze for Alfonso d'Este's Camerino." Apollo 151, no. 455 (January 2000): 37.

2002

  • Mack, Rosamund E. Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian Art, 1300-1600. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 2002: 105-106, fig. 106.

  • Pächt, Otto. Venezianische Malerei des 15. Jahrhunderts: die Bellinis und Mantegna. Munich, 2002: 235-236, fig. 211.

  • Quodbach, Esmée. "The Last of the American Versailles: The Widener Collection at Lynnewood Hall." Simiolus 29, no. 1/2 (2002): 43, 73, 82, 89-91, 96, fig. 36.

  • Chong, Alan. “Victorians and the Art of Ferrara.” In Stephen J. Campbell et al. Cosmè Tura: Painting and Design in Renaissance Ferrara. Ed. Alan Chong. Exh. cat. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, 2002: 184.

2003

  • Gregori, Mina, ed. In the Light of Apollo: Italian Renaissance and Greece. 2 vols. Exh. cat. National Gallery and Alexandros Souzos Museum, Athens, 2003-2004: 1:329.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 84-85, no. 61, color repro.

  • Santucci, Paola. Su Andrea Mantegna. Naples, 2004: 210.

2007

  • Romani, Vittoria. "Sui disegni dei due Dossi." In Alessandro Ballarin, ed. Il Camerino delle Pitture di Alfonso I. 6: Dosso Dossi e La Pittura a Ferrara negli anni Del Ducato di Alfonso I. Atti del Convegno di Studio, Padova, Palazzo del Bo, 9-11 maggio 2001. Padua, 2007: 27.

  • Savy, Barbara Maria. “Il “Bagno” di Dossi in Castel Sant’Angelo: le fonti antiche e moderne.” In Alessandro Ballarin, ed. Il Camerino delle Pitture di Alfonso I. 6: Dosso Dossi e La Pittura a Ferrara negli anni Del Ducato di Alfonso I. Atti del Convegno di Studio, Padova, Palazzo del Bo, 9-11 maggio 2001. Padua, 2007: 106, 109.

  • Cappelletti, Francesca. “Dosso, Tiziano, Correggio: in margine ad alcuni episodi Ferrarese alle origini della collezione Aldobrandini.” In Alessandro Ballarin, ed. Il Camerino delle Pitture di Alfonso I. 6: Dosso Dossi e La Pittura a Ferrara negli anni Del Ducato di Alfonso I. Atti del Convegno di Studio, Padova, Palazzo del Bo, 9-11 maggio 2001. Padua, 2007: 196, 197 n. 18, 198, 199, 200.

  • Ricci, Laura. “L’amore a corte: gli “Asolani” di Pietro Bembo e il “Libro de natura de amore” di Mario Equicola.” In Alessandro Ballarin, ed. Il Camerino delle Pitture di Alfonso I. 6: Dosso Dossi e La Pittura a Ferrara negli anni Del Ducato di Alfonso I. Atti del Convegno di Studio, Padova, Palazzo del Bo, 9-11 maggio 2001. Padua, 2007: 245.

  • Faber, Kirsten. “Il “Trionfo di Bacco” di Benvenuto Tisi detto il Garofalo: dal modello rafaellesco al dipinto per le ‘camere nuove de corte’ di Ercole II d’Este.” In Alessandro Ballarin, ed. Il Camerino delle Pitture di Alfonso I. 6: Dosso Dossi e La Pittura a Ferrara negli anni Del Ducato di Alfonso I. Atti del Convegno di Studio, Padova, Palazzo del Bo, 9-11 maggio 2001. Padua, 2007: 289, 293.

2008

  • Lucco, Mauro, and Giovanni Carlo Federico Villa, eds. Giovanni Bellini. Exh. cat. Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, 2008: 52 fig. 1 (detail), 61-64, fig. 9, 99 fig. 13 (detail), 306, 308.

  • Bacchi, Andrea and Luciana Giacomelli, eds Rinascimento e passione per l'antico: Andrea Riccio e il suo tempo. Exh. cat. Castello di Buonconsiglio. Trento, 2008: 360.

2010

  • Variano, John. Wine--A Cultural History. London, 2010: 120, 121, fig. 53.

2011

  • Boskovits, Miklós, ed. The Alana Collection, Newark, Delaware, USA. Vol. II: Italian Paintings and Sculptures from the Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century. Florence, 2011: 63.

2013

  • Campbell, Stephen J. and Michael W. Cole. Italian Renaissance Art. New York, 2013: 402-403, color fig. 13.46.

2014

  • Chiodo, Sonia, and Serena Padovani, eds. The Alana Collection, Newark, Delaware, USA. Vol. III: Italian Paintings from the 14th to 16th Century. Florence, 2014: 126.

2019

  • Cranston, Jodi. Green Worlds of Renaissance Venice. University Park, 2019: 148-149, color fig. 79.

  • Lucco, Mauro, Peter Humfrey, and Giovanni C.F. Villa. Giovanni Bellini: Catalogo ragionato. Treviso, 2019: 582-585, cat. 190.

2023

  • Minozzi, Marina, ed. Dosso Dossi: The Aeneas Frieze. Exh. cat. Galleria Borghese, Rome, 2023: 23, fig. IV, 24, 25, 26.

  • Rowley, Neville, ed. Giovanni Bellini: Influences croisées. Exh. cat. Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, 2023: 17, 150, 161.

Inscriptions

lower right on wooden tub: joannes bellinus venetus / p MDXIIII

Wikidata ID

Q15008032

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