Inspiration: Bacchus and the Cultural History of a Creation Myth

The purpose of this book is to reveal the antique pedigree of a now commonplace term, "e;Inspiration,"e; an essential creation-myth now propelling notions of "e;self-expression"e; in modern art-making. Knowledge of the ancient sources of such supposedly "e;modernist"e; fixations will make a significant contribution to historical-cultural thinking, particularly by showing in detail the facts of an unrecognized evolutionary continuity. In order to personify "e;Inspiration,"e; this study initially focuses upon Michelangelo's Bacchus of 1496, so revealing now-forgotten meanings once typically to be attached in a generic way to any "e;Bacchus."e; Then it demonstrates how these "e;Dionysiac"e; concepts arose in ancient Greece. Later developments--particularly from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance--are traced here for the first time. Due to further modifications by Friedrich Nietzsche, Dionysiac "e;expressionism"e; eventually became a staple of modern art theory and practice.