The Young Sick Bacchus (Italian: Bacchino Malato) is an early self-portrait by the Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, dated between 1593 and 1594. It's also known as the Sick Bacchus or the Self-Portrait as Bacchus According to Caravaggio's first biographer, Giovanni Baglione, it was a cabinet piece painted by the artist using a mirror.
It currently hangs in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy.
This painting provides examples of:
- Adjective Noun Fred: The title is fashioned this way.
- Author Avatar: Many of Caravaggio's self-portraits depict him as Bacchus, especially fitting since he was known for his heavy drinking and partying.
- Deconstruction: Most other depictions of Bacchus show him as handsome and in the midst of a celebration, while here he looks as though he has come down with a venereal disease and makes him look freshly dead. People have often read into Young Sick Bacchus that this is what he would look like after a full night of drinking and excess.
- Gag Lips: Downplayed. His lips are a shade of blue, clearly a symptom of whatever sickness he is suffering from.
- Green Around the Gills: Bacchus has a noticeable greenish-yellow tint to his skin, emphasizing that he is definitely not in full health.
- Protagonist Title: As the title indicates, Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, is the main and only character in the painting.
