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 full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. 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 18×24 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 18×24. Prints at 12×16, 18×24 in — 12×16 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 18×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or dark wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
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.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
