[EROTIC ART] Maja (Maria) Berezowska (Baranovichi, 1898 – 1978, Warsaw) - 20th century - “Bacchus & Ariadne,” Pencil & Watercolor on Paper (Mythology, Nude, Erotica, Dionysus) - Collection of Andrzej Czernik of the Orwał/Orwat Coat of Arms.

Maja (Maria) Berezowska (Baranovichi, 1898 – 1978, Warsaw) – 20th century – “Bacchus & Ariadne,” from the collection of Andrzej Czernik of the Orwał/Orwat coat of arms.
Watercolor on paper,
14 cm x 21 cm
Vertical composition, executed on a rectangular sheet of light-colored paper. In the center is a naked, slender young man standing almost face-on, with his weight shifted to one leg. His silhouette is elongated, his torso narrow, and his head tilted slightly backward. His eyelids remain half-closed, and his lips are slightly parted, giving his face an expression of dreamy rapture or ecstatic contemplation. His left hand rests on his hip, while his right hand hangs loosely, with his fingers spread wide. A thin vine branch with green leaves and small purple clusters of grapes wraps around the figure’s hips.
A much larger, nude female figure hovers above the man. The woman is depicted leaning forward sharply, almost horizontally, as if she were flowing down from the upper part of the composition. Her face, with her eyes half-closed, draws near the young man’s head, and one of her hands falls toward his shoulder. Her light, curly hair is rendered with yellow and golden highlights. A wide, light drapery, painted in translucent tones of purple, pink, and red, flows around the woman’s back and hips. Its undulating outline creates a soft, almost cloud-like shape in the upper part of the work.
The figures are rendered with a thin, sometimes repeatedly traced pencil line and very diluted watercolor. The flesh-toned areas are rendered in pale pink, ochre, and gray, with stronger accents of red on the lips and cheeks. The most intense colors are concentrated in Ariadne’s drapery, her hair, and the vine garland entwining Bacchus’s hips. The background has been left almost entirely unpainted. Visible in it are very delicate, partially smudged guide lines, as well as sketchy, unfinished outlines in the lower part of the sheet. The large amount of blank space on the paper reinforces the impression of lightness and of the figures suspended in an undefined space.
In the lower right corner is a handwritten inscription in brown paint: “Bacchus and Ariadne.” Above it is a symbol composed of combined symbols representing the feminine and masculine principles, Venus and Mars.
The depiction is distinguished by a free, linear approach to rendering the body. The artist forgoes anatomical realism in favor of elongated proportions, fluid contours, and theatrical gestures. Bacchus is slender, youthful, and almost androgynous, while Ariadne takes on a monumental yet light form, hovering above him like the personification of a dream, desire, or inspiration. The variation in scale does not stem from spatial perspective but serves to emphasize the emotional relationship between the figures. The composition is organized by a downward-flowing movement: from the billowing drapery, through Ariadne’s face and arm, toward Bacchus’s head and standing figure.
The lightness of the line, decorative distortion, subtle eroticism, a clear interest in gesture, and a humorous yet sensual treatment of the myth are among the most recognizable features of Berezowska’s work. The work resembles a costume study or a design for a theatrical apotheosis: the figures are not set in an ancient landscape but exist within the conventional space of a performance. Thin layers of color do not obscure the drawing, allowing the process of finding the right arrangement of limbs and drapery to remain visible. The sketch-like quality here does not imply randomness; it is a means of preserving the liveliness of movement and the immediacy of the initial idea.
The subject refers to the myth of Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, who helped Theseus escape from the Cretan labyrinth, only to be abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. She was found by Dionysus—known in Roman tradition as Bacchus—the god of wine, fertility, vegetation, ecstasy, and theater. Ariadne became his wife, and her crown was said to have been raised to the heavens as the constellation Corona Borealis. In this depiction, the narrative moment of their meeting is not shown; rather, it portrays the symbolic and erotic union of the two figures. The grapevine identifies the young man as Bacchus, while the combined symbols of Venus and Mars may further emphasize the union of the feminine and masculine elements.
Maja Berezowska was a Polish painter, draftswoman, caricaturist, and set designer, and one of the most outstanding figures in 20th-century Polish satirical drawing. She received her artistic training in St. Petersburg and Kraków, among other places. She created works for the press, designed costumes and theatrical sets, and nudes and love scenes—depicted with elegance, wit, and a clear affirmation of physicality—held a special place in her body of work. In the 1930s, she lived in Paris, where she published political satires. During the occupation, she was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned, among other places, at Pawiak and in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. After the war, she returned to her artistic work, collaborating with the press and theaters. Her work combined the finesse of Art Nouveau lines, her experience as a caricaturist, and a stage designer’s sense of gesture with a unique, bold perspective on eroticism and the relationships between men and women. Basic biographical information is provided by Culture.pl – Maja Berezowska.