The Stalled Procession 1673 - 1722

Claude Gillot's "The Stalled Procession," made around 1710-1720, presents a Bacchanalian scene in sanguine ink, teeming with figures of revelry and classical allusion. Note the bacchantes pulling the chariot, their frenzied gestures harkening back to ancient rituals of ecstatic frenzy and loss of control. Such displays are deliberately echoed in later art, like in the works of the Expressionists, to convey raw emotional states, connecting the irrationality of humankind across time. Even more, the prominent statue in the background recalls ancient Roman monuments to Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and theatre. Consider the enduring power of the Dionysian motif—a symbol for the release of instinctual drives, perpetually reappearing through the ages from ancient Greece to modern psychoanalysis. As we stand before this image, are we not also reminded of our collective, subconscious yearning for liberation and transcendence? This primal connection is the lifeblood of imagery. It binds us to the past, constantly resurfacing, evolving, and adopting new forms in our present.