Discarded deity: the rejection of M ichelangelo's B acchus and the artist's response
2013; Wiley; Volume: 28; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1477-4658.2012.00849.x
ISSN1477-4658
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Religious Studies of Rome
ResumoCardinal Raffaele R iario (1460–1521) hired M ichelangelo in 1496 to carve a life‐size B acchus for display in his new palace. Bank records and the artist's letters prove that M ichelangelo spent a year carving the sculpture, for which he was paid in full. Although scholars agree that the patron never possessed the work, determining why R iario rejected the sculpture has proven more difficult. This paper considers how the B acchus would have contributed to the cardinal's thoughtfully constructed identity – and why the meaning would have been desirable in 1496, but unacceptable a year later. In J une 1497, R iario was occupied with an intense political situation that made installing the nude pagan figure imprudent. The patron chose to leave the sculpture where it was carved, on a property owned by J acopo G alli (†1505). Deeply insulted, M ichelangelo became painfully aware of the imbalance of power in artist‐patron relationships. This essay also addresses how M ichelangelo intervened in his biographies written by G iorgio V asari (1511–74) and Ascanio Condivi ( c . 1525–74) to ensure the identification of J acopo G alli as patron of the B acchus and deride the cardinal.
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