Rapture of a Maenad

This is a sketch I did to represent the Hellenistic god Dionysus. This piece depicts a maenad (or female devotee who was in a frenzy) of the god Dionysus as she is enthralled by his presence.

I wanted to show the sexual nature of the maenad via her gesture and her revealing outfit, as well as the sensual manner the wine is pouring on her.

I also wanted to convey the dualistic nature of Dionysus himself. One way I did this was by having him wear a split almost yin-yang like mask. However, the main way I wanted to convey his duality was in a more hermaphroditic way. While he is a man with broad shoulders, I added feminine features to him. You can see that he has not male pecs but female like breasts as well as very voluptuous hips.

This was a fun sketch, I normally don't do this kind of surrealistic imagery but I think I may do it more often.