
29/11/2023
This exquisite enamel miniature by Henry Bone is based on an oil painting by the French artist Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun. It depicts Emma Hamilton, a notorious actress and dancer, as a bacchante, a follower of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine.
Vigée Le Brun references the myth of Ariadne by adding a departing ship in the background. Ariadne, the daughter of the King of Crete, helped the Greek hero Theseus escape from the Labyrinth but was abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. Additionally, Emma's long hair, recumbent pose, and revealing dress evoke traditional representations of the Magdalen.