After Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), Italian, Florence, 16th/ 17th century

Michelangelo's Bacchus is one of only two surviving sculptures from the artist's first period in Rome. Commissioned by Cardinal Raffaele Riario, the marble was completed in 1497 and acquired by the banker Jacopo Galli before 1506. Bought for the Medici in 1572, it was transferred to Florence where it is today displayed in the Museo del Bargello. The present bronze reduction is distinguished by an attractive, waxy quality of modelling.