Thursday, March 14, 2013

750 - Bacchus Pours The Wine


A sketch of the Roman god Bacchus pouring an amphora of wine.  Bacchus was the Romanized version of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and grapes.  Perhaps the most famous version of Bacchus (apart from Disney) is the one by master Caravaggio, where the god resembles a little of the late John Belushi, at least to me. 
 
The ancient Roman saw Bacchus as a powerful, muscular middle-aged man, although like most gods, he could transform his shape into anything he pleased.  Perhaps my Bacchus is a slave dressed to look like the god.  I don't know, since rendering this sketch was terrifically difficult today, and while sometimes I will have a half-glass of wine or a sip of whiskey on hand to make drawing easier, I did not drink anything stronger than water.