Caravaggio
... The painting is entitled “Bacchino Malatto” or “Sick Little Bacchus”, a self-po rtrait done by Caravaggio in the year 1593. ... Knowing this, Caravaggio’s intentions for this self-portrait are unclear. ... Caravaggio’s facial expression in the painting is very teasing and flirty. ... Adrienne Von Latte’s “Caravaggio’s peaches and academic puns” suggests that Caravaggio’s intentions for this self-portrait was, indeed, to express his sexuality. ... During Caravaggio’s time, many poet societies or “academies” addressed sexual matters through symbolisms, many times by using fruits or vegetables. ... Francesco Berni, a member of this group and friend to Caravaggio, talks about peaches as being like a boy’s bottom. ... In Caravaggio’s painting, two peaches are on the tabletop. ... Before Caravaggio’s painting, he did a self portrait by depicting himself as Bacchus. Just as Caravaggio’s, Lomazzo’s painting had many sexual allusions and homosexual references.