A Bacchanalian Feast In A Roman Villa By Pierre-nicolas Brisset (1810–1890)

Oil on panel.

A charming compositional sketch depicting an ancient banquet filled with numerous figures inside a lavish Roman residence. The guests, crowned with foliage, recline on banquet couches while several female figures move about in the foreground. An ancient statue placed at the center of the scene structures the architectural space and reinforces the reference to classical antiquity.

The brushwork is free, swift, and particularly lively. The lighting effects, the red drapery, and the skillful arrangement of the groups reflect a compositional approach characteristic of the preparatory studies produced by 19th-century academic painters.

The reverse bears several old inscriptions, including “Orgie Romaine,” “Brisset,” as well as a reference to the Grand Prix de Rome and the year 1841. These details link the work to Pierre-Nicolas Brisset, winner of the First Grand Prix de Rome in 1840 and a resident of the Villa Medici beginning in 1841.

This painting exhibits all the characteristics of a bozzetto or a preparatory study for a more ambitious composition dedicated to a subject from Roman antiquity.