The Wine Bibbers 

Master HFE created this engraving, The Wine Bibbers, sometime between 1490 and 1560, probably in Germany. Here, we see four nude male figures reclining in front of classical ruins, surrounded by containers of wine and grapes. The print presents a vision of Bacchanalian revelry. Its themes speak to the place of art and intoxication in Renaissance society. The architecture in the background is based on rediscovered classical designs, and its inclusion here reflects the cultural authority that antiquity had in 16th-century Europe. Yet we also see broken columns, a reminder that the classical world had collapsed. Is the artist making a statement about the cyclical nature of civilizations, contrasting the decadence of the present with the glories of the past? These questions can be answered through historical research, by looking at contemporary literary texts, architectural treatises, and moralizing pamphlets. Considering the social and institutional context allows us to better understand the power of art.