Messer Jacopo Gallo, a Roman gentleman and a banker, commissioned a Bacchus, now in the Bargello at Florence, and a Cupid, said to be the statue now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington.

Condivi records these commissions.( 71) This Bacchus is the least dignified work that Michael Angelo ever executed.

Perhaps, like a young artist struggling to get on, he listened too much to the wishes and suggestions of his intelligent patron.

The finish and the truth to nature of the unpleasant youth are exquisite.

The folds of the skin and the softness of the flesh are perfectly rendered, but the work is repulsive, save for the mischievous little Satyr who steals the grapes; he seems to take us out into the open air, and away from the fumes of the wine shop.