His Bacchus alone is sufficient to explode a theory favoured by some critics, that, left to work unhindered, he would still have preferred a certain vagueness, a certain want of polish in his marbles.
Nevertheless, the Bacchus leaves a disagreeable impression on the mind--as disagreeable in its own way as that produced by the Christ of the Minerva.

That must be because it is wrong in spiritual conception--brutally materialistic, where it ought to have been noble or graceful.

In my opinion, the frank, joyous naturalism of Sansovino's Bacchus (also in the Bargello) possesses more of true Greek inspiration than Michelangelo's.

If Michelangelo meant to carve a Bacchus, he failed; if he meant to imitate a physically desirable young man in a state of drunkenness, he succeeded.
What Shelley wrote upon this statue may here be introduced, since it combines both points of view in a criticism of much spontaneous vigour.
"The countenance of this figure is the most revolting mistake of the spirit and meaning of Bacchus.

It looks drunken, brutal, and narrow-minded, and has an expression of dissoluteness the most revolting.