The ''Young Sick Bacchus'' ( it, Bacchino Malato), also known as the ''Sick Bacchus'' or the ''Self-Portrait as Bacchus'', is an early self-portrait by the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

artist

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

, dated between 1593 and 1594. It now hangs in the

Galleria Borghese The Galleria Borghese () is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays the Villa Borghese gardens are considered a separate tourist ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. According to Caravaggio's first biographer,

Giovanni Baglione Giovanni Baglione (1566 – 30 December 1643) was an Italian Late Mannerist and Early Baroque painter and art historian. He is best remembered for his acrimonious and damaging involvement with the slightly younger artist Caravaggio and ...

, it was a cabinet piece painted by the artist using a mirror.

History

The painting dates from Caravaggio's first years in Rome following his arrival from his native

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in mid-1592. Sources for this period are inconclusive and probably inaccurate, but they agree that at one point the artist fell extremely ill and spent six months in the hospital of Santa Maria della Consolazione. According to a 2009 article in the American medical publication '' Clinical Infectious Diseases'', the painting indicates that Caravaggio's physical ailment likely involved

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

, as the

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving abnormal heme meta ...

d appearance of the skin and the icterus in the eyes are indications of some active

hepatic The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it i ...

disease causing high levels of

bilirubin Bilirubin (BR) (Latin for "red bile") is a red-orange compound that occurs in the normal catabolic pathway that breaks down heme in vertebrates. This catabolism is a necessary process in the body's clearance of waste products that arise from the ...

. According to

Paolo Zamboni Paolo Zamboni (born 25 March 1957, Ferrara, Italy) is an Italian doctor and scientist. He is full Professor and Director of the School of Vascular Surgery at the University of Ferrara in Italy. He is known to have discovered, identified and des ...

professor of Vascular Surgery at University of Ferrara, the obvious signs of

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

, yellow skin, and acanthosis nigricans lead back to the diagnosis in painting of

Addison's disease Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is a rare long-term endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of the steroid hormones cortisol and aldosterone by the two outer layers of the cells of the adrenal ...

, a condition described by Addison in the 1800s that affects the adrenal glands. The ''Sick Bacchus'' was among the many works making up the collection of Giuseppe Cesari, one of Caravaggio's early employers, which was seized by the art-collector Cardinal-Nephew Scipione Borghese in 1607, together with the '' Boy Peeling Fruit'' and ''

Boy with a Basket of Fruit ''Boy with a Basket of Fruit'' is an oil on canvas painting generally ascribed to Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, created ''c.'' 1593. It is held in the Galleria Borghese, in Rome. Background The painting dates from t ...

''.

Style

Apart from its assumed autobiographical content, this early painting was likely used by Caravaggio to market himself, demonstrating his virtuosity in painting genres such as

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

and

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

and hinting at the ability to paint the classical figures of antiquity. The three-quarters angle of the face was among those preferred for late renaissance portraiture, but what is striking is the grimace and tilt of the head, and the very real sense of the suffering; a feature that most Baroque art shares. The

can be compared with that contained 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 no doubt Caravaggio's improved condition, both physically and mentally. The painting shows the influence of his teacher, the Bergamasque

Simone Peterzano Simone Peterzano (c. 1535–1599) was an Italian painter from Bergamo, but stressed his links to Venice where he probably trained. He painted in Mannerism, mannerist style and is mostly known as the master of Caravaggio. Peterzano called himself ...

, in the utilization of the tensed musculature depiction, and of the austere Lombard school style in its attention to realistic details.

Commentary

Cindy Sherman, as part of her ''History Portrait'' series (1989–90), produced a parody on ''Sick Bacchus'', an ironic photographic self-portrait named ''Untitled # 224''. During a 2018 NPR interview, Paul Janeway of the band St. Paul & the Broken Bones said that the title of his band's new album, '' Young Sick Camellia'', is an homage to Caravaggio's ''Young Sick Bacchus'' ( camellias being the

state flower This is a list of U.S. state, federal district, and territory flowers. See also *List of U.S. state trees * Lists of U.S. state insignia References External linksList of state flowers {{USStateLists * U.S. state flowers Flowers ...

of the band's home state,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

References

External links

* {{Caravaggio 1590s paintings Mythological paintings by Caravaggio Paintings in the Borghese Collection Self-portraits Paintings of Dionysus Food and drink paintings

History

Style

Commentary

See also

Further reading

References

External links