A Satyr and a Bacchante.

Plate XXXIII.

p. 68

FRESCO FROM HERCULANEUM.

Height, 24 inches; width, 21 15/25 inches.

PLATE XXXIII.

A BACCHANT crowned with ivy has chosen a solitary place to rest herself; but the tambour which we see near her seems to indicate that she wished her retreat to be no secret mystery to the inhabitants of these solitudes. She reclines voluptuously; her beautiful head is artfully turned aside; but her half-shut eyes show that she only feigns to be asleep in order the better to favour the attempts of which she is about to be the object. And indeed one satyr, attracted no doubt by the sound of the music, approaches, and, judging by the apparent slumber of the nymph that the moment is favourable, boldly lifts up the veil which covered her beauty. His lascivious looks, his gaping nostrils, his attitude and gestures, all indicate admiration and desire.