Bacchus by Caravaggio was created in 1598. The painting is in Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. The size of the work is 95 x 85 cm and is made as an oil on canvas.
This painting is part of the author’s early series of half-length portraits painted ‘in chiaro’, which includes works such as the ‘Fruttaiolo’ (Boy with a Basket of Fruit) from the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the ‘Fanciullo morso dal ramarro’ (Boy bitten by a Lizard) belonging to the Fondazione Longhi in Florence, and the ‘Canestro di frutta’ (Basket of Fruit) from the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. A leading figure in Rome in the 1610s of the artistic revolution which swept across Europe, in this painting Caravaggio demonstrates a masterful naturalistic portrayal of still life. His depiction of the basket of fruit and the cup of wine proffered by the god is surprising, with such elements interpreted by some critics as a Horatian invitation to frugality, conviviality and friendship. (Read more in Galleria degli Uffizi)
About the Artist: Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born in Milan. During the final four years of his life he moved between Naples, Malta, and Sicily until his death. His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting. Caravaggio employed close physical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro that came to be known as tenebrism… Read more
