Art Collage JANG: Interesting Art Stories: 80. Young Sick Bacchus, Caravaggio

Friday, November 4, 2022

Interesting Art Stories: 80. Young Sick Bacchus, Caravaggio

How are you?

Currently, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 80th story is the “Young Sick Bacchus” by Caravaggio.

The “Young Sick Bacchus” is an early self-portrait by the Baroque artist Caravaggio, painted between 1593 and 1594, which is now in the collection of the Galleria Borghese in Rome. According to Giovanni Baglione, Caravaggio's first biographer, it was a cabinet piece by the artist using a mirror.

Portrait of Caravaggio, Ottavio Leoni
(c. 1621)

Galleria Borghese

Caravaggio created this painting after arriving in Rome from his hometown of Milan in mid-1592. According to a 2009 article in the American medical publication "Clinical Infectious Diseases", since the figure shows jaundice in his skin and the eyes, which are indications of some active hepatic disease that causes high levels of bilirubin, the artist’s physical disease likely involved malaria. The “Young Sick Bacchus” was one of the collections of Giuseppe Cesari, one of Caravaggio's early employers, and in 1607, the art collector Cardinal Scipione Borghese acquired the painting, together with the artist’s “Boy peeling fruit” and “Boy with a basket of fruit.”

Boy Peeling Fruit, Caravaggio (c. 1592
–1593)

Boy with a Basket of Fruit, Caravaggio
(c.1593)

It is also likely that this painting was used by Caravaggio to promote himself, demonstrating his virtuosity in painting genres such as still life and portraits and alluding to his ability to paint classical figures of antiquity, but what stands out in the painting is the grimace, tilt of the head, and a realistic expression of the pain the artist felt.

The still life in the painting can be compared with that included in slightly later works such as the “Boy with a basket of fruit” and the “Boy bitten by a lizard”, where the fruits are in a much better condition, reflecting the artist’s improved physical and mental condition.

Boy Bitten by a Lizard, Caravaggio (1593
–1594)

The painting also shows the influence of his teacher Simone Peterzano, in the utilization of the tensed musculature depiction, and of the Lombard school style in its attention to realistic details.

Cindy Sherman, the American artist, created a self-portrait titled “Untitled # 224”, a parody of the “Young Sick Bacchus,” as part of her “History Portrait” series.