MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma)

Bacchus (detail)

1497
Marble, height 203 cm
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence

Although this sculpture is composed only of bodies and a tree stump, the young sculptor experiments to see how far the small companion of the wine god can hide behind the larger figure. This playful aspect is intensified by the detailed face of the satyr with the grapes. Michelangelo's first work in Rome shows the intensity with which still-life-like motifs could imbue his otherwise so often harsh work.




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