Michelangelo's Bacchus - Buonarroti finished the sculpture in about 1497
Bacchus was created by Michelangelo in 1497. It was initially commissioned for the garden of Cardinal Raffaele Riario. He rejected it and it finally found its way to the Medici in Florence in 1572. The marble sculpture is oversized and depicts Bacchus, the Roman God of wine. It shows Bacchus in an intoxicated state. Bacchus and The Pieta are both attributed to the sculptor’s first period in Rome.
Bacchus is shown in a drunken stupor, almost staggering off the rock on which he is standing. A faun can be seen behind the figure of Bacchus. Bacchus is holding a bunch of grapes which the faun is eating. The figure of Bacchus seems to be resemble both a man and a woman as it has well-developed breasts as well as swollen testicles. The grapes and the wreath of vines signify wine. In his right hand, Bacchus holds a goblet of wine and his left he holds a tiger skin. The sculpture has a high center of gravity as the main figure almost seems to be reeling off the edge where it is standing. Michelangelo used similar precarious postures for some of his other works such as David and the figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
