Owning a sculpture can bring a missing element to the exterior or interior of one’s business or home. They can add a personal touch to any room or be a great focal point in the garden. Sculptures even have an advantage over a painting; it is not necessary to rearrange all the wall artwork to accommodate them.
They usually can be placed on the floor, on a pedestal, or on a decorative table. The most anyone would have to do is find the perfect spot for the eye-catching work of art. Like a painting, a sculpture has color and design, however, it has the added benefit of true depth.
One of the world’s most famous sculptures, “Bacchus and Pieta” was created by the artist Michelangelo. The statue was originally commissioned by Raffaele Riario. For some reason, he decided he did not want the marble statue. Instead, the God of Wine — with grapes and a goblet in his hand — found his way into the garden of Michelangelo’s friend Jacopo Galli.
Bacchus is highly recognized as the God of Wine and Ecstacy. He is also known as Dionysus or in Greco-Roman, Liber Pater, a nature God of Fruitfulness and vegetation.
How Sculptures Can Be a Missing Element One Did Not Know They Needed
Michelangelo’s “Bacchus” also depicts Pieta — who is a faun half man half goat — eating grapes from Bacchus’s hand. The God of Wine is wearing a wreath of ivy leaves around his head. Michelangelo added the ivy leaves as a tribute to Bacchus; the plant was very sacred to the God of Wine.
Around three decades after Michelangelo’s sculpture was finished, Maarten van Heemskerck sat in Galli’s garden and sketched the work of art. His sketch is notable due to the fact the goblet of wine in Bacchus’s hand was missing. The genitalia of the sculpture was also chiseled away. Sometime later the goblet was added back to the statue, however, nothing else was restored.
None of this takes away from the beauty that is Michelangelo’s “Bacchus.” The stone statue is genuinely a masterpiece; a work of art that should be welcomed into any home or garden. Once a sculpture is added it is easy to see how they bring a missing element to one’s business or home.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Michelangelo: Bacchus
Britannica: Dionysus
Sculptura: Reasons to Invest in a Sculpture
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Richard Mortel’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image by Rufus46 Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
