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Some say
we have to thank Bachus for inventing wine...
Bacchus
was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual
madness and ecstasy. He was one of the primary gods worshipped in
Ephesus in Roman times. The infamous celebrations of Bacchus, notorious
for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they
were forbidden by the Roman Senate.
The followers of Bacchus had a strong theology: The more wine they
drank, the more Bacchus filled them and controlled them. They became
like him. Therefore drunkenness was to be highly celebrated as a
spiritual experience.
So it is no surprise that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians, draws a powerful comparison for the believers in that great
city:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (dissipation,
drunkenness, lasciviousness). Instead, be filled with the Spirit… (Ephesians 5:18).
- See more at: http://www.judydouglass.com/2011/05/holy-and-unholy-spirits-why-would-paul-say-that/#sthash.CrosBVtm.dpuf
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Bachus,
the Roman name for the Greek god Dionysos.
This effeminate god of wine,
madness and ecstasy,
often appears in scenes of revelry and licentiousness.
Bacchus is so famous he had his own festival named after him,
called Bacchanalia.
This infamous celebration was notorious for sexual
and criminal acts
and was thus forbidden by the Roman Senators later on.
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Caravaggio's
BACHUS
produced in the 16th century,
currently held by the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
Michelangelo Merisi or Amerighi da Caravaggio,
29 September 1571? – 18 July 1610?)
was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta,
and Sicily
between 1592 (1595?) and 1610.
His paintings, which combine a realistic
observation of the human state,
both physical and emotional, with a
dramatic use of lighting,
had a formative influence on the Baroque school of painting
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Whether intentional or not, there is humor in this painting.
The
pink-faced Bacchus is an accurate portrayal of a half-drunk teenager
dressed in a sheet and leaning on a mattress in the Cardinal's Rome
palazzo,
but far less convincing as a Greco-Roman god.
Bacchus
was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual
madness and ecstasy. He was one of the primary gods worshipped in
Ephesus in Roman times. The infamous celebrations of Bacchus, notorious
for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they
were forbidden by the Roman Senate.
The followers of Bacchus had a strong theology: The more wine they
drank, the more Bacchus filled them and controlled them. They became
like him. Therefore drunkenness was to be highly celebrated as a
spiritual experience.
So it is no surprise that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians, draws a powerful comparison for the believers in that great
city:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (dissipation,
drunkenness, lasciviousness). Instead, be filled with the Spirit… (Ephesians 5:18).
- See more at: http://www.judydouglass.com/2011/05/holy-and-unholy-spirits-why-would-paul-say-that/#sthash.CrosBVtm.dpuf
Bacchus
was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual
madness and ecstasy. He was one of the primary gods worshipped in
Ephesus in Roman times. The infamous celebrations of Bacchus, notorious
for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they
were forbidden by the Roman Senate.
The followers of Bacchus had a strong theology: The more wine they
drank, the more Bacchus filled them and controlled them. They became
like him. Therefore drunkenness was to be highly celebrated as a
spiritual experience.
So it is no surprise that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians, draws a powerful comparison for the believers in that great
city:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (dissipation,
drunkenness, lasciviousness). Instead, be filled with the Spirit… (Ephesians 5:18).
- See more at: http://www.judydouglass.com/2011/05/holy-and-unholy-spirits-why-would-paul-say-that/#sthash.CrosBVtm.dpuf
circa 1595
In his Bachus painting, Caravaggio shows the god as a 16th Century Italian teenager,
offering the viewer wine, spoiled fruit and perhaps something more....
Composition:
One of art historian's favorite topics when discussing Caracaggio's Bachus
is the still-life of fruit in the foreground.
The artist's early years painting fruits and flowers
for the Cavaliere d'Arpino definitely paid off,
as the Caracaggio's mastery of still-life elements shines brilliantly.
Like the dirty fingernails, many have wondered if this basket of bruised,
overripe, wormy fruits could also have a symbolic message,
such as a warning of the fleetingness of youth and eminence of death,
or if Caravaggio was just painting what he truly saw.
After the Bachus was restored, conservators discovered
that Caravaggio even painted in a tiny reflection
of himself on the carafe of wine.
Once again, the careful observer can spot the familiar face
of the model who is probably Mario Minniti, who can also be seen
in The Fortune Teller as well as several other early paintings.
Although the purported subject of this painting is a Greek (or Roman) god,
Caravaggio makes no effort to uphold the illusion.
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The model's vaguely antique toga is recognizable
as a contemporary man's shirt pulled down over one shoulder,
and the artist even shows the dirty mattress
peeking out under a none-too-clean sheet.
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The basket of fruits
in the Bacchus is sometimes interpreted as a vanitas. A vanitas is a
type of still-life painting especially popular in Dutch and Flemish art
of the Renaissance and Baroque, which is intended to remind the viewer
of the fleeting nature and meaninglessness of earthly life.
Common
vanitas symbols include skulls, timepieces (to show that time on earth
is running out), bubbles (for their fragility), and, as here, wilting
flowers and rotting fruit.
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Due to the way in which Bacchus' offers the wine with his left hand,
which requires a great deal of effort, many have speculated that
Caravaggio used a mirror to help him while working, to avoid the need
for drawing.
This means that the boy actually offers the wine with his right hand. This supports a comment by artist Giovanni Baglione, Caravaggio's early
biographer, that the artist did some early paintings using a mirror.
This is also reinforced by the fact that after the painting was cleaned,
a tiny portrait of Caravaggio working at his easel was revealed in the
glass' reflection. Also, Bachus' reflection is evident on the surface
of the wine in the glass he is holding.
*
As was generally the case with Caravaggio's works,
Bachus is striking for the artist's careful attention to realistic detail.
text source: here
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Canestra di Frutta, circa 1599, Abrosiana Library, Milan
Much has been made - again - of the worm-eaten, insect-predated,
and generally less
than perfect condition of the fruit.
Possibly Caravaggio simply painted what was
available;
or possibly it has some meaning along the general lines of 'all
things decay'
(Another still-life of Caravaggio, also one of my favorite ones)
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The Vine of Dionysus
Like the myth of Ariadne, the vine of
Dionysus has been important in Christian art.
In archaic and classical
art Dionysus or his followers are wreathed with vine leaves or ivy.
In
early Christian art (especially in mosaics)
the vine appears as an
allegory or symbol of eternal life,
in part because of Christ’s saying
"I am the true vine" (John 15:17).
It is shown on the wall mosaic of Christus Apollo
in the Vatican cemetery,
and the vine and the vintage
are repeatedly shown
in the mosaics of the fourth century A.D.
on the
vaults of the church of Santa Costanza in Rome,
built to house the
sarcophagi
of the emperor Constantine’s mother and family.
All these
images appear in post-classical art with great frequency.
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Depictions of Dionysus in Art:
DIONYSOS (or Dionysus)
was the great Olympian god of wine,
vegetation, pleasure and festivity.
He invented wine on
Mount Nyssa and spread the art of tending grapes around the world. He
was said to bring joy and divine ecstasy as well as brutality and rage
reflecting both sides of wine’s nature. Dionysus was a popular deity and
most of his followers were women-the maenads. They were said to engage
in ecstatic dancing during celebrations.
He was depicted as either an older
bearded god or a pretty effeminate, long-haired youth.
His attributes
included the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped staff),
drinking cup,
leopard and fruiting vine.
He was usually accompanied by a troop of
Satyrs and Mainades (female devotees or nymphs).
Some of the more famous myths featuring the god include:
Bacchus
was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual
madness and ecstasy. He was one of the primary gods worshipped in
Ephesus in Roman times. The infamous celebrations of Bacchus, notorious
for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they
were forbidden by the Roman Senate.
The followers of Bacchus had a strong theology: The more wine they
drank, the more Bacchus filled them and controlled them. They became
like him. Therefore drunkenness was to be highly celebrated as a
spiritual experience.
So it is no surprise that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians, draws a powerful comparison for the believers in that great
city:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (dissipation,
drunkenness, lasciviousness). Instead, be filled with the Spirit… (Ephesians 5:18).
- See more at: http://www.judydouglass.com/2011/05/holy-and-unholy-spirits-why-would-paul-say-that/#sthash.CrosBVtm.dpuf
Bacchus
was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual
madness and ecstasy. He was one of the primary gods worshipped in
Ephesus in Roman times. The infamous celebrations of Bacchus, notorious
for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they
were forbidden by the Roman Senate.
The followers of Bacchus had a strong theology: The more wine they
drank, the more Bacchus filled them and controlled them. They became
like him. Therefore drunkenness was to be highly celebrated as a
spiritual experience.
So it is no surprise that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians, draws a powerful comparison for the believers in that great
city:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (dissipation,
drunkenness, lasciviousness). Instead, be filled with the Spirit… (Ephesians 5:18).
- See more at: http://www.judydouglass.com/2011/05/holy-and-unholy-spirits-why-would-paul-say-that/#sthash.CrosBVtm.dpuf
Bacchus
was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual
madness and ecstasy. He was one of the primary gods worshipped in
Ephesus in Roman times. The infamous celebrations of Bacchus, notorious
for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they
were forbidden by the Roman Senate.
The followers of Bacchus had a strong theology: The more wine they
drank, the more Bacchus filled them and controlled them. They became
like him. Therefore drunkenness was to be highly celebrated as a
spiritual experience.
So it is no surprise that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the
Ephesians, draws a powerful comparison for the believers in that great
city:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (dissipation,
drunkenness, lasciviousness). Instead, be filled with the Spirit… (Ephesians 5:18).
- See more at: http://www.judydouglass.com/2011/05/holy-and-unholy-spirits-why-would-paul-say-that/#sthash.CrosBVtm.dpuf
read full history here:
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'Grab' a bottle of wine - enjoy your weekend,
the last one in September,
don't get mad - don't get drunk!
Alla Salute - Yamas - Cheers...
Sante!
A bientot.....
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Remark:
large painting of Dyonysus and Ariadne
by Titian, 1520-23, full History here
National Gallery, London,
