Caravaggio "Bacco" 1595

It is with one of Caravaggio's most famous works that Ravo pays homage to Arvi, a company that has adopted Ravo's wall and is active in the pegged wine trade, by painting Michelangelo Merisi's Bacchus on its façade. The subject is probably the same as "Il Suonatore di Liuto", "Ragazzo morso da un ramarro", "Fanciullo con un canestro di Frutta", and other masterpieces by the 16th-century painter; some identify him as Mario Minniti, a painter, friend and perhaps lover of Caravaggio himself, and others (including Ravo) as the castrato Pedro Montoya, at that time a cantor in the Sistine Chapel.  Ravo wanted to highlight the character with the elements in the foreground, isolating the central figure and sacrificing the dark background. This allows the painting to emerge more strongly from the concrete wall. This stylistic choice also reflects the evolution of Ravo's poetics, which lately focuses on subjects and details.