William Kentridge illustrates the label of Château Mouton Rothschild 2016

Every year since 1945, a great artist has illustrated the label of Château Mouton Rothschild. Thus, the most famous names in contemporary art are brought together in a collection to which a new work is added each year.

The owners of Mouton, Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Camille Sereys de Rothschild and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, gave the commission for the 2016 vintage to the painter, sculptor, video artist and stage director William Kentridge. Born at Johannesburg in South Africa in 1955, William Kentridge is the first internationally renowned artist from the African continent to illustrate a Mouton label. Exhibiting in the world’s leading galleries and the winner of prestigious prizes, he asserts a “political art” that is nevertheless open to both humour and poetry.

In his work for Mouton, The Triumphs of Bacchus, the silhouettes he assembles in a joyful procession are inspired by Bacchic characters from the paintings of great masters from Titian to Matisse, underlining the truth that a great wine, although first and foremost a pleasure, is also inseparable from a cultural tradition which demands respect and moderation – not least Château Mouton Rothschild 2016!