Young Sick Bacchus
c. 1593–1594 · Oil on canvas · Galleria Borghese, Rome
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About this work
- Artist
- Caravaggio (1571–1610)
- Year
- c. 1593–1594
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 67 × 53 cm
- Collection
- Galleria Borghese, Rome
- Movement
- Baroque
A sallow young man crowned with ivy, bare to the waist and wrapped in a white sheet, turns toward the viewer with a bunch of white grapes in his hand and a pair of peaches on the stone slab before him. The greenish skin and bluish lips gave the picture its name, Bacchino malato, and the biographer Baglione reports that Caravaggio painted several pictures of himself in a mirror while recovering from an illness in the hospital of Santa Maria della Consolazione; this is taken to be one of them, made around 1593 to 1594, and the face is accepted as the painter's own at about twenty-two. Like the Boy with a Basket of Fruit it was confiscated from the Cavalier d'Arpino in 1607 and given to Cardinal Scipione Borghese. It hangs in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the earliest self-portrait of the artist.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
An ivy-crowned youth with greenish skin turning over his shoulder with a bunch of grapes, in greys, white and warm shadow, for a study, dining room or hallway at 16×24 in black. Olive, stone or dark green walls suit it; pair it with Boy with a Basket of Fruit.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Baroque painting
- Era
- 16th century (c. 1593–1594)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- intimate
- Rooms
- dining room, hallway or entryway, study or library, living room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Young Sick Bacchus in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Young Sick Bacchus painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
