no. xv.
Bacchus.

THIS bust of a Bacchus is strik-
ingly beautiful, and offers to the
admirers of the art, a fine study
of the beau ideal, of the beauty of
form divested of any of those affec-
tions of the mind which give ex-
pression to the countenance, and
which, however they may increase
its interest with us, tend to remove
it from the acknowledged criterion
of beauty. The appropriate orna-
ment of the head is in a style pecu-
liarly graceful, and corresponds
perfectly with the effeminate soft-
ness intended to be expressed.

It is necessary to remark that
Bacchus is here represented not as
the hero and conquerer of India,
but as the voluptuary sunk in the
lap of ease and enjoyment; both
of which characters are ascribed
to him in ancient mythology. Under
the first, sculpture has represented
him bearded, muscular and active;
under the last, as approaching to
the luxurious fullness of the female
form, and without beard.