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Provenance: (Possibly) Anonymous sale; Hotel Drouot, Paris, 9 June 1923, lot 3, as 'Antoine Coypel'.
Private Collection.

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Notes: Originally from a Dutch family of designers and artists, François Marot joined the Academy and exhibited work at the Salon of 1704. He was one in a group of Parisian history painters active in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, including Charles de La Fosse, Jean Jouvenet, and Antoine Coypel, who were greatly influenced by Rubens and northern Italian artists, particularly Titian.

Details from the present lot, such as Bacchus's ruddy complexion and the voluptuousness of Ariadne's figure, highlight Marot's absorption of Rubens as transmitted through La Fosse. The dramatic drapery enveloping the two central figures recalls Titian's influence. Similar to Italian works of art where leopards are depicted pulling Bacchus' chariot, Marot depicts the precise moment of Bacchus' return to Ariadne after initially rescuing her from the island of Naxos and subsequently abandoning her for his campaigns in the East.

We are grateful to Clémentine Gustin-Gomez for suggesting the attribution to Marot from photographs (written communication, 28 July 2008).