Bacchus, the god of wine, leaps from his chariot upon seeing Ariadne on the shore of Naxos.
She has just been abandoned there by Theseus — his ship is visible in the top left corner, already gone.
Bacchus falls completely in love, and for a fraction of a second they lock eyes across the painting.
Everything is in motion except that gaze.
The blue of the sky is lapis lazuli — ground from Afghan stone, more expensive than gold at the time.
Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, commissioned this for his private study, and he wanted the finest materials available.
The writhing figure on the right, wrapped in snakes, was inspired by the Laocoön — the ancient Greek sculpture recently excavated in Rome that had electrified every painter in Italy.
Fun fact: the constellation of stars above Ariadne's head is already there in the painting, even as the moment of their meeting is still happening.
Bacchus will turn her crown into the constellation Corona Borealis so she will never be forgotten.
Titian painted the ending into the beginning.
