One of the most glorious moments of this NFL season was captured during the Bills-Chief game last Sunday and it’s all over the internet. Yes, we are talking about shirtless Jason Kelce being the best hype man for his younger brother, Travis Kelce.
The photo has done rounds on the internet and transformed into a well-received meme which has been commented on by even Shania Twain. One other art and sports enthusiast has been able to find art in it.
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LJ Rader Finds A Bacchanalian Reference To Jason Kelce’s Viral NFL Moment
The Philadelphia Eagles center player was all drunk on pride and a considerable amount of booze as he cheered shirtless for his brother’s touchdown score at the previous playoff match. And that is just what the public loved about Jason. Jason was all in for football spirits even before the match started as he appeared for the tail game tradition of Bills Mafia before the Sunday match. Jason along with Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes (wife of Chiefs player Patrick Mahomes) were all in for the celebratory mood amongst the Kansas Bills win for the day.
Art But Make It Sports is an X formerly a Twitter account that brings together uncannily similar works of art with famous moments captured in sports which is run by LJ Rader. NFL themselves tagged Rader in their post to ask for one of the signature comparisons of the Jason moment. Radner who is a mostly self-taught aficionado in this niche had a more than fitting piece for the occasion. He pulled out this piece of ‘The Feast Of Bacchus’ by Phillips de Koninck from his cerebral art archive. The artwork resembles the moment not just visually but also thematically.
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Themes Of ‘The Feast Of Bacchus’
‘The Feast Of Bacchus’ was painted by Phillips de Koninck in 1654. It is most probably an allusion to a better-known painting ‘The Triumph Of Bacchus’ by Diego Velázquez. Bacchus is the Roman version of the Greek god Dionysus who is the god of wine, revelry, and theatre. The painting represents intoxicated men yelling, being a bit rowdy but enjoying in their hazy drunkenness. The allegory behind the piece is the humane tendency to get drunk in order to reward themselves.
The stout man who is the focus of the piece is the Roman God Bacchus who pours the wine to others as if rewarding them. The artist representing a literal god sitting casually on a barrel with common peasantry also is a comment in itself, maybe pointing to the fact that in victory and celebratory moments, people lose their individuality, they are all one in that one delirious moment. This draws an interesting parallel with Jason Kelce at the game, his delirious cheering, jumping off from the luxury viewing box at one point and cheering with the common fans all fit so perfectly. It is one hell of an accidental renaissance.
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