Young Sick Bacchus
2023 © Maxim Tabachnik
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Young Sick BacchusCaravaggio

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This self-portrait (c. 1593) shows Caravaggio as Bacchus with jaundiced skin and tense features, painted while recovering from illness. The ivy crown replaces the usual vine leaves, subverting divine idealism. Both sensual and unsettling, the image mocks classical beauty and reveals the artist’s own physical vulnerability.