ART a la carte. Wine Art History in Short.
We are serving ART on our monthly MENU, and sharing with you some pieces that have inspired us on the way to a VERY PRIVATE WINE ART COLLECTION of SEASON I. Let’s start from the very beginning…
ANCIENT EGYPT
Take it to the grave
Wine is divine – at least that’s what the ancient Egyptians say (and we definitely agree!)
Way back when one’s travel itinerary for their trip to the afterlife was incomplete without the five canonical wines from different estates in the Delta. Scattered grape seeds and winemaking scenes on the walls of tombs too show the sacred value placed on wine.
Take it from Plutarch, quoting Eudoxus, “The blood of those who had once battled against the gods, and from whom, when they had fallen and had become commingled with the earth, they believed vines to have sprung.”
CLASSICAL ART
Feast on the blood of the grape
“Next came Dionysus, the son of the virgin, bringing the counterpart to bread: wine and the blessings of life's flowing juices. His blood, the blood of the grape, lightens the burden of our mortal misery. Though himself a God, it is his blood we pour out to offer thanks to the Gods. And through him, we are blessed." Euripides
The Greek cult of celebrating Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and ecstasy has since inspired great artists such as Titian and Michelangelo to create art on the motif of pleasure. In Classical times, however, artists depicted scenes of wine making and enjoyment on craters (amphorae used to mix and dilute wine and water).
MEDIEVAL ART
All work and no play
Artists in medieval times were no barrels of laughs. Unlike artists of the past they chose to depict wine in the context of hard labour, rather than joyous intoxication, the latter of which was frowned upon.
God works in mysterious ways
Despite their judgement of pleasure and intoxication, wine was still the holy drink. After all, Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine. So regardless of their hang-ups about wine, it had to be part of religious iconography.
RENAISSANCE ART
A red for the blue bloods
The Renaissance was a time of ideas, among them the notion that wine, being a symbol of refinement, was only fit for noble courts such as the House of Medici.
With generous patrons like the Medici family to commission them, Renaissance artists like Titian, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci had the chance to create countless works dedicated to the Bacchus (Dionysus).
BAROQUE ART
Man cannot live by bread alone
“We want in!” said baroque artists, pulling out their brushes to show wine enjoyed not just by mystical beings, but by regular people.
MODERN (20TH CENT.)
Me, myself and wine
With the 20th century it was at last time to get up close and personal with wine. Wine art became infused with a touch of the artist’s personal, intimate relationship with wine. A unique perspective was born.
20th CENTURY-NOW
You’re all invited
Trying to reach the masses? Artist’s posters celebrating wine culture were the way to go pre-WWII. Sante, gaiete, esperance (health, joy, hope) – what’s not to love?
ARTISTS & WINE
Collector's labels with an artist's touch
From as far back as 1945 Chateau Mouton Rothschild has honored its yearly tradition of inviting celebrated artists to create artist's edition labels. Some prominent names include Andy Warhol (pictured), Salvador Dali, Wassily Kandinsky, and even Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. The artists are given complete artistic freedom, and yet elements such as vines, the pleasure of drinking, and the ram, the Mouton Rothschild symbol, have inspired many of the artists in their design.
Celebrating its appreciation of art, every year since 1981 the Nittardi winery has had a contemporary international artist design the wine label and tissue wrapping paper.
Are you ready to start your
ART COLLECTION
The love story between art and wine continues at My Wine Design. Subscribe to our Newsletter and enjoy 10% OFF your purchase when you buy a silkscreen print from our wine art collection.
ART TO START YOUR WINE SHRINE
words DARTA RIKARDE
illustration SANTA PILENS
art: tomb of Khaemwaset. Feast of Dionysus amphora. Tacuinum Sanitatis. Marriage at Cana14th century Fresco from the Visoki Decani monastery. Bacchus by Caravaggio, commissioned by Francesco Maria Bourbon and dedicated to Ferdinando l de’Medici. Bacchus by Michelangelo. The Triumph of Bacchus by Diego Velázquez (1628-1629). Picasso, the Wine Bottle1926. Joan Miró, Painting (the Bottle of Wine) 1924. Vins de France by Andre Galland, 1937. Champagne poster for Clicquot Champagne.