Two Masterpieces Compared: Bacchus by Titian and Caravaggio
How two Italian artists represented the same subject with radical differences
When two separate artists choose to paint the same subject, the difference between the resulting works can be fascinating.
Here, I look at two paintings — one by Titian and one by Caravaggio that present the subject of Bacchus — the Greco-Roman god of wine and festivity, produced just over 70 years apart.
Titian’s depiction, titled Bacchus and Ariadne, shows the marching band of Bacchus and his followers in full abandon. Bacchus himself can be seen in a pink robe leaping out of his chariot towards Ariadne — dressed in blue — with whom he is in love.
Titian completed the work in 1523. Born around 1490, the artist was in his early 30s at the time. It was commissioned by Alfonso d’Este, an Italian duke and enthusiastic patron of arts.
Bacchus, also known as Dionysus to the Greeks, was most likely a fertility god in his origins, a vital “life force” who expressed himself in the energy inherent in nature — from the blood in the veins to the sap in the…
