Anatomy of a Masterpiece: Part 5 of 5: The two faces of Caravaggio’s Bacchus
Aneta Georgievska-Shine, professor of art history, University of Maryland

Bacchus: The Double Nature of the God of Wine - Discovered in the storage facilities of the Uffizi Gallery in 1913, Bacchus belongs to Caravaggio’s early years in Rome (ca. 1598). Though the youthful God he depicts here has often been related to classical sculptures, his languid sensuality feels all too “real,” or of our world. For some critics, he expresses a certain vision of antiquity celebrating the freedom of the senses or alludes to initiation rites practiced in Rome. Others see him as a sophisticated figure representing the seductions of art itself. In this lecture, we consider the reasons why Caravaggio’s portrayal of Bacchus continues to tantalize with his “mixed messages” and provoke new interpretations with every new generation of critics.

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