(back to top)

Eugene Francis Savage

Bacchanal (The Four Seasons)

casein or tempera over gilded leaf on canvas, mounted on panel

24 x 20 in.

Gift of the Friends of American Art

Learn More

Eugene Savage was born in Covington, Indiana, in 1883. He was brought up in the world of Mozart, Beethoven and Bach by his mother, who conducted the symphony orchestra in Covington. In 1912 Savage won the coveted Prix de Rome and spent three years in Italy at the American Academy, immersing himself in the study of Renaissance artists and mural paintings. He returned to America to paint Renaissance-inspired murals during the 1920s.. A member of the Yale University faculty, Savage was considered the most successful of the Rome-trained academicians, and he received numerous public commissions. His interest centered chiefly on the field of mural painting, where his influence was greatest.

Bacchanal typifies the decorative qualify of Savage’s style and his superb craftsmanship.  Like most of his compositions, it is an allegory. In the foreground, Autumn, wearing a wreath of leaves, pulls Summer from the scene. Winter, represented by an old man holding a shaft, casually prepares to shoot Autumn as Spring pulls on his beard in her attempt to supersede Winter. With the circular pattern of action, the unusual texture created by the gilded leaf, and the stylized treatment of the figures, this painting is a reminder of the persistence of the decorative and academic spirit in America.

Reference

Michael Kammin.  A Time to Every Purpose:  The Four Seasons in American Culture.  Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2003. ISBN-13: 978-0807828366