Bust of a bacchante
Nicola Morelli Italian
Not on view
In these cameos of devotees of Bacchus, Nicola Morelli, a shrewd judge of the coloristic capacities of hardstones, did not merely copy himself: In the gem on the left (40.20.44), with a goatskin and more complex tresses, he exploited four strata, the topmost being the pink of the grapes. In that on the right (40.20.45), in three layers, he investigated the uppermost layer of brown to define the grapevine against the pallid flesh of the girl, who seems even less in control of her senses.
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