The National Gallery of Arts, at the center of the United States capital, is home to different paintings and sculptures from around the world; one of them is the statue of Bacchus and a faun. This 16th century sculpture was purchased by the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust and given to the national gallery of arts as a gift in 1937. The exact sculptor who made this statue is not known, however, it is believed to have been a Milanese artist. The sculpture is a classic example of high Renaissance period sculpture in Italy. Additionally, this sculpture provides a great insight into how wine is a significant part of the roman civilization.
The statue of Bacchus and a faun is a bronze statue, which stands …show more content…
Medieval sculptures were predominantly Christian; they emphasized on showing the glory of God and holiness of saints. Additionally, they were used to decorate churches, and they were depictions of biblical stories. Since most of the European population didn’t understand Latin, they were not able to learn about Christianity through reading or attending mass. Therefore, the sculptures were used to teach the people what they would have learned from reading bible. With the beginning of the renaissance era, however, European sculptors were going back and assessing and learning from ancient Greek and roman civilizations, which they expressed through their sculptures. For example, this particular statue is pagan, nude, and it has a muscular physique, which are all common attributes of ancient Greek sculptures. Moreover, this statue was made out of bronze, a material that was rarely used during the middle ages as a sculpting material. On the other hand, bronze was one of the most used sculpting materials of ancient Greek and roman civilization, and as it can be seen in this statue, it was once again revived during the renaissance …show more content…
It was consumed at any time of day and with every meal. Moreover, medical professionals of the time used wine as an antiseptic and as a pain killer, or as a medium to transfer other medicines. In addition to its medicinal uses, wine was used to make water potable. Joel Butler explains, “The main purposes then, were its healthful, hygienic aspects, since most water was contaminated. Relative to that, the easiest way to make water potable was to add wine to it. Diluting wine with water perhaps in a 4:1 ratio not only made water drinkable, but diluted the alcohol strength of the wine while not changing the caloric