EARLY ROME · GALLERIA BORGHESE
Self-Portrait as Bacchus
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A god with a human face
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Catalogue facts
The title
Self-Portrait as Bacchus is the title used for this entry in the source catalogue.
The date
c. 1593 means an approximate date, rather than a firmly documented year.
The record
The collection and status above identify this particular entry. They do not confirm that the painting is currently on public display.
The painter as a god
Also known as Sick Bacchus, this is among Caravaggio’s earliest surviving paintings. It is widely interpreted as a self-portrait in the guise of Bacchus. The grapes and ivy connect the figure to the god of wine.
Trivia and surprising facts
A title with a history
Roberto Longhi established the familiar name Sick Bacchus. He read the pale colouring as a reference to convalescence, but that interpretation is debated.
A mirror behind the image?
The early biographer Giovanni Baglione described Caravaggio painting himself with a mirror. Most scholars now associate his account of a Bacchus with this canvas.
Two different Bacchuses
This is the Borghese painting in Rome, distinct from Caravaggio’s later Bacchus in Florence’s Uffizi.
Sources and further reading
Galleria Borghese: collection record and scholarly interpretations