love':
Caravaggio, the painter of Amor Vincit
Omnia (love conquers all), illustrates
a line from Virgil's Eclogues X.69. In
his painting from 1601, a playful spirit
accompanies an acrobatic pose of a
nude, slender body. Embraced by black
eagle wings and radiating a vivid smile,
this Roman cupid is about to descend
from a pile of human endeavours: music,
science, war, and government. A
dramatic interplay of light and shadow
mingles with a photographic clarity of
the vigorous subject. Allegorical
symbols play an important role alongside
naturalistic details: from the crooked grin,
dirty feet, crimson cheeks and tousled
head of hair.
Caravaggio, 1601
Oil on Canvas
The Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
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