Bacchus, by Michelangelo Buonaroti (1475-1564)

Michelangelo's sculpture of the Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and mystical ecstasies, represents the pinacle of imitation in Renaissance art. One of the artist's earlier works (1496-1497), Bacchus was commissioned by the banker Jacopo Galli for his garden; Galli wanted it fashioned after the model of the ancients. So successful was Michelangelo's imitation that it was long considered an ancient original. Michelangelo carved a drunken, boyish Bacchus; he clutches a lionskin, a symbol of death, and a bunch of grapes, a symbol of life.  Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy. Image source: Olga's Gallery.