Caravaggio, Bacchus (fresco)

Description

This adolescent Bacchus painted by Caravaggio is part of his light period. In fact, the deep environmental darkness that made his works famous is still absent. In the Adolescent Bacchus, critics have identified contradictory elements in the choice of the subject portrayed. Bacchus, in fact, has a very realistic appearance, he looks like the faithful representation of a boy of the people. The clothing and location are, however, classic and elegant. In front of the Bacchus, on the table, to the right, Caravaggio painted a small still life with fruits. This genre was widespread in northern Europe, among the Flemish culture. It was Caravaggio who brought still life, as a genre in its own right©, to Italy. It was, therefore, that a school was born in Rome that developed the genre of Still Life with characteristics different from the Flemish ones.