Bacchus, c. 1595, oil on canvas, 95 x 85 cm, Uffizi, Florence |
With the healthy glow of youth and the
rosy cheeks of liquor, Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and ecstasy,
garlanded with vine leaves, reclines before a still-life of fruit and
wine.
Endowed
equally with mythical symbolism and realism, the adolescent Bacchus
regards the viewer with a quizzical, tipsy expression. His fingers are
dirty as one hand delicately holds a glass of wine out to us.
Like
many of Caravaggio's paintings it can be seen in overtly homoerotic
terms, the other hand seeming about to invitingly pull the ribbon
holding his robe closed. The passive tilt of the head and sideways
glance appears equally inviting.