Raffaello - Bacchantin, zwischen zwei Faunen tanzend, 217

This red chalk drawing depicts three figures from a Dionysian procession in mid-motion. The central female figure wears light, wind-swept drapery and holds small percussive instruments, while she is flanked by two nude, muscular fauns—one playing a syrinx and the other leaping with a large ring or basket over his head.

The work reflects the Renaissance recovery of classical motifs associated with the Dionysian mysteries. In the Neoplatonic circles of the time, particularly those of Marsilio Ficino, the Bacchic 'furor' (frenzy) was interpreted as a form of divine madness that allowed the soul to transcend the physical world and achieve spiritual insight.