Of Michaelangelo Merisi Da Caravaggio's Young Sick Bacchus

Wine has been a part of Western history since the Neolithic Period (8,500-4,000 B.C.), when cultures first started to develop permanent communities, and stopped being nomadic hunter-gatherers (U. Penn, 2000). One of the earliest written records of the consumption of wine is recorded in the Bible and the impact of wine on Mediterranean cultures became more pronounced over the years as the geopolitical situation stabilized in the region under the Roman Empire. Roman Imperialism helped to spread the production of wine across most of the countries in the Empire, which included most of North Africa and Southern Europe (Britannica, 2000). During that same era, wine became ingrained in the Christian faith and is still used in Christian mass today. The close tie between wine and the Christian faith aided to the spread of wine production and wine consumption across Europe

People used wine to show that they are successful and have a higher social status ranking than others, leaving the ones who weren't wealthy and unsuccessful without wine. This began the first socially/economically divided empires. It was used in religious ceremonies, and used medicinally to heal wounds.

Barna da Siena’s Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine and Other Scenes from 1340 is vastly different in content, composition, and a number of other attributes from Fra Carnevale’s 1467 painting Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. It is clear between the roughly hundred years between when the two were painted that advancements in realistic painting soared and a further appreciation for realism and humanism developed. The need to portray more than just the holy subjects, and to show how far painting had evolved is evident in the differences between Barna and Fra Carnevale’s works. Although, the emotion behind Barna’s work, and its significance are, in my eyes, far greater than that of Fra Carnevale’s.

Wine was a popular drink back in ancient Rome. Many people desired the consumption of wine as it grew to be an important factor in Rome’s trade. Wine allowed Rome to control more territory. Also many new people started writing books on how wine was produced like Cato the Censor, Varro, and Columella. These works provided insight on how wine played a part in Roman culture. Consumption of wine started bringing taxes on the quantity people drank. However, wine was an essential need in everyday life. The trading of wine helped Rome many beneficial ways because it allowed the Romans to get different goods from many places and it also allowed their empire to expand in territory and influence.

Wine was originally very scarce and exotic, meaning the only people to really drink it were very powerful, prestigious, and privileged people. It was mainly drunk during public meetings and debates, or symposia’s, to express one’s self much more freely. While beer was known to have medicinal benefits, wine was known to clean wounds.

It was exotic and expensive. The author says “So fine was the calibration of wine with status that drinkers at a Roman banquet, or convivium, would be served different wines depending on their positions in society.” The richest drank the finest wines while poorer citizens drank lesser vintages and so on the social ladder. Wine was also religious. Wine influence on the history of the society started in ancient Greece, wine became the main export of a vast seaborne trade, helping to spread Greek culture abroad. It was a form of currency. I agree with the author’s assessment on the impact of wine. I agree because without wine it probably wouldn’t been involved with religious activities unless it was discovered later down the

Dionysus : He is the god of fertility of nature and men, wine and intoxicated ecstasy. He is also the of of God of Theater and is also considered to be a bringer of destruction and delight . Dionysus is the son of Semele ( a mortal woman) and Zeus. There are numerous myths surrounding his birth, one being that after Semele's death, Dionysus was saved by being sown in Zeus's thigh. There are numerous festivals which are celebrated in Dionysus' honor, like Anthesteria and Country Dionysia. Dionysus ends up marrying Ariadne, who is the daughter of king Minos. Dionysus is important for the study of Greek Myth because he defies categorization. For example , he is a twice born god, he was raised as a girl and he is the immortal who died. Additionally,

The art under analysis is the Supper at Emmaus by Merisi Da Caravaggio. The painting is one of the many Christian arts painted by Caravaggio during the Baroque art period. Due to the significance of the every aspect of the painting, the paper is structured in a way that every part deals with one aspect of the painting. The first part deals with the historical significance and the interpretation of the painting. In the same part, the religious significance of the paintings is explored. The second part involves the interpretation of the different techniques used by the artist and their significance in the painting the Supper at Emmaus. The paper also gives insight into the artist earlier life and the different factors that influenced his paintings

Dionysus is considered in modern day to be one of the most well know unknown Greek gods. The biolistic character Jesus Christ was based off of this outstandingly lavish Greek god. Dionysus, sometimes known as Bacchus, has two distinct origins. He is considered the god of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature. He is also the patron god of the Greek stage.

Dionysus, or to the Romans, Bacchus, is a great god. He is the god of wine, cheer, wild behavior, dancing, fertility, resurrection, drama, song, vegetation, and all-around jolly fellow. He was a very popular god because of his jolly disposition and carefree attitude. His jolly disposition and carefree attitude which is mainly why he is the greatest god because this attitude not only gave the world the gift of wine but saved lives like Ariadne from the island of Naxos.

Dionysus is the God of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy. He has a thyrsus which is a staff of giant fennel covered with ivy vines and leaves, topped with a pine cone. He is the son of Zeus and princess Semele of Thebes. Before he could be naturally born, His mother Semele was tricked by Zeus’s wife, because of jealousy, to get killed accidentally by Zeus. He killed her with his lightning that he had struck her with. After Zeus had killed her, he recovered his son. He was worshiped between the time of 1500-100BC. He’s often referred to as Bacchus.

The chosen art piece, from Roman origin, is titled “Dionysus” and portrayed Dionysus, the god of wine, with his follower Pan. This artwork is a great example of Greek art’s influence in Roman artwork. The main elements of Greek’s naturalistic art, specifically of High Classical period, are rendered beautifully in this piece combined with distinctive elements from verism, unique to Roman art. So, the idealism of Greek art and the individualism of Roman art come together to create an art piece that is divine, mythical, and yet very human and therefore, relatable.

The great thing about art, is that there are multiple portrayals of one idea but, the artist’s own personal style allows one to feel something that another may not. Early Renaissance painters, Giotto di Bondone and Duccio di Buoninsegna established their own unique style to depict a biblical scene known as, The Betrayal of Christ. Through a close analysis of each artist’s representation of, The Betrayal of Christ, one is able to compare and contrast the artists own understanding of the scene through their attention to detail, character, and space throughout the painting. When examining these two works, one will have a stronger emotional response towards Giotto’s interpretation rather Duccio’s, due to his methods of handling organization, figures, and space.

Dionysus is an important figure of Greek mythology. He is the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, festivity and pleasure. He represents humanity’s longing for pleasure and desire to celebrate. Dionysus is also the god of hallucination, theatre, reincarnation and homosexuality. He is called: “the youthful, beautiful, but effeminate god of wine. He is also called both by Greeks and Romans Bacchus (Bakchos), that is, the noisy or riotous god…” (Roman 201).

The Romans, as they did with many Greek practices, first adopted and then fundamentally altered the traditions and meanings behind wine drinking. No longer was wine a symbol of democracy and developing philosophy, but instead of an ever increasing social, economic, and political divide. The Greek ideal of consuming wine only to the point of creating interesting conversation had become less important in Roman society, which some speculate is because wine was instead becoming a crutch with which to ignore the daily struggles of Roman life. In the words of Roman author, Petronius, “Ah me, so wine lives longer than miserable man. So let us be merry.