Collections: American Art: Bacchante

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Bacchante

"Nude Art In Museum Stirs Taxpayers." "Shocked by Nude Art in Brooklyn." "Museum Statues Given Clean Bill." These 1914 headlines were sparked by the debate surrounding Frederick William MacMonnies' Bacchante, considered by some viewers to be "vulgar" and "immoral."

• Artist: Frederick William MacMonnies, American, 1863-1937
• Medium: Marble
• Place Made: USA
• Dates: 1894
• Dimensions: 86 1/2 x 31 x 33 3/4 in. (219.7 x 78.7 x 85.7 cm)
• Signature: Incised on top of base at proper left side, in script: "F. Mac-Monnies"
• Collections: American Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, 5th floor
• Accession Number: 06.33
• Credit Line: Ella C. Woodward Memorial Fund
• Image: Overall, 06.33_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Frederick William MacMonnies (American, 1863-1937). Bacchante, 1894. Marble, 86 1/2 x 31 x 33 3/4 in. (219.7 x 78.7 x 85.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, 06.33 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 06.33_bw.jpg)
• Catalogue Description: Statue of dancing nude female figure holding nude infant boy in proper left hand and holds up a bunch of grapes in her right hand; woman stands on proper right toe on round, stepped pedestal base, bends body to right, and raises left leg across front; she has an expression of delightful abandon with eyes half-closed and a large grin; lion pelt draped over her left arm falls to ground and serves as support; infant looks intently at grapes. Condition: Good.