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Sick Bacchus (Caravaggio)
Encyclopedia
The Young Sick Bacchus, dated between 1593-1594, is an early self-portrait by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, now in the Galleria Borghese
in Rome
. It is also called Self-portrait as Bacchus and Bacchino Malato. According to Caravaggio's first biographer, Giovanni Baglione
, it was a cabinet piece
painted by using a mirror with grapes and some peaches.
The painting dates from Caravaggio's first years in Rome following his arrival from his native Milan
in mid-1592. Sources for this period are confused and probably inaccurate, but they agree that at one point the artist fell extremely ill and spent six months in the hospital of Santa Maria della Consolazione. He is said to have done several paintings in thanks to the prior of the hospital for saving his life, but none survived. This work, however, unquestionably dates from the same time. It was later among the many works making up the collection of Giuseppe Cesari
, one of Caravaggio's early employers, seized by the art-collector Cardinal-Nephew Scipione Borghese
in 1607 together with the Boy Peeling Fruit
and Boy with a Basket of Fruit
.
Apart from its autobiographical content, this early painting was likely used by Caravaggio to market himself, demonstrating his virtuosity in painting genres such as still-life and portraits and hinting at the ability to paint the classical figures of antiquity. The three-quarters angle of the face was among those preferred for late renaissance portraiture, but what is striking is the grimace and tilt of the head, and the very real sense of suffering.
The still-life can be compared with that contained in slightly later works such as the Boy With a Basket of Fruit - where the fruit are much better condition, reflecting no doubt Caravaggio's improved condition, both physical and mental, after this, one of the lowest periods in his life - and the Boy Bitten by a Lizard
. The painting shows the influence of his teacher, the Bergamasque Simone Peterzano
, in the tensed musculature, and of the austere Lombard school in the attention to realistic detail, but the cold light bathing and isolating the subject against a dark background, and the psychological atmosphere this created, was Caravaggio's own.
Galleria Borghese
The Borghese Gallery is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. It is a building that was from the first integral with its gardens, nowadays considered quite separately by tourists as the Villa Borghese gardens...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. It is also called Self-portrait as Bacchus and Bacchino Malato. According to Caravaggio's first biographer, Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione
Giovanni Baglione was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. He is best remembered for his acrimonious involvement with the artist Caravaggio and his writings concerning the other Roman artists of his time.-Early life:A pupil of Francesco Morelli, he worked mainly...
, it was a cabinet piece
Cabinet painting
A cabinet painting is a small painting, typically no larger than about two feet in either dimension, but often much smaller. The term is especially used of paintings that show full-length figures at a small scale, as opposed to say a head painted nearly life-size, and that are painted very...
painted by using a mirror with grapes and some peaches.
The painting dates from Caravaggio's first years in Rome following his arrival from his native Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in mid-1592. Sources for this period are confused and probably inaccurate, but they agree that at one point the artist fell extremely ill and spent six months in the hospital of Santa Maria della Consolazione. He is said to have done several paintings in thanks to the prior of the hospital for saving his life, but none survived. This work, however, unquestionably dates from the same time. It was later among the many works making up the collection of Giuseppe Cesari
Giuseppe Cesari
Giuseppe Cesari was an Italian Mannerist painter, also named Il Giuseppino and called Cavaliere d'Arpino, because he was created Cavaliere di Cristo by his patron Pope Clement VIII. He was much patronized in Rome by both Sixtus V.-Biography:Cesari's father had been a native of Arpino, but...
, one of Caravaggio's early employers, seized by the art-collector Cardinal-Nephew Scipione Borghese
Scipione Borghese
Scipione Borghese was an Italian Cardinal, art collector and patron of the arts. A member of the Borghese family, he was the patron of the painter Caravaggio and the artist Bernini...
in 1607 together with the Boy Peeling Fruit
Boy Peeling Fruit (Caravaggio)
Boy Peeling Fruit is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio painted circa 1592-1593.This is the earliest known work by Caravaggio, painted soon after his arrival in Rome from his native Milan in mid 1592. His movements in this period are not certain...
and Boy with a Basket of Fruit
Boy with a Basket of Fruit (Caravaggio)
Boy with a Basket of Fruit, c.1593, is a painting generally ascribed to Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, currently in the Galleria Borghese, Rome....
.
Apart from its autobiographical content, this early painting was likely used by Caravaggio to market himself, demonstrating his virtuosity in painting genres such as still-life and portraits and hinting at the ability to paint the classical figures of antiquity. The three-quarters angle of the face was among those preferred for late renaissance portraiture, but what is striking is the grimace and tilt of the head, and the very real sense of suffering.
The still-life can be compared with that contained in slightly later works such as the Boy With a Basket of Fruit - where the fruit are much better condition, reflecting no doubt Caravaggio's improved condition, both physical and mental, after this, one of the lowest periods in his life - and the Boy Bitten by a Lizard
Boy Bitten by a Lizard (Caravaggio)
Boy Bitten by a Lizard is a painting by the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio. It exists in two versions, both believed to be authentic, one in the Fondazione Roberto Longhi in Florence, the other in the National Gallery, London...
. The painting shows the influence of his teacher, the Bergamasque Simone Peterzano
Simone Peterzano
Simone Peterzano was an Italian painter of the later Mannerism, native of Bergamo. He is mostly known as the master of Caravaggio....
, in the tensed musculature, and of the austere Lombard school in the attention to realistic detail, but the cold light bathing and isolating the subject against a dark background, and the psychological atmosphere this created, was Caravaggio's own.