Thursday, October 1, 2015

Ornamental

Michelangelo Anselmi
Putti playing with Hoops
c. 1548
drawing
Metropolitan Museum

Daniele Crespi
Putti with Mitre, Crosier, Mace, Book & Candle
17th century
drawing
Metropolitan Museum

Bartolomeo Passerotti
Putti Embracing
1560s
drawing
Prado

Ancient Greek and Roman painting and sculpture were rich in ornamental children. The fashion came back into European art with the Renaissance, like so much else. Ornamental children remained a strong presence through the end of the 18th century  but did not survive the age of Revolutions and all the earnestness that followed. In our own day they have been banished to greeting cards.

Marcantonio Raimondi after Raphael
Dance of Children & Cupids
16th century
engraving
Victoria & Albert Museum

attributed to Francesco Salviati
Cupid
c. 1550-75
drawing
Prado

attributed to Giorgione
Putto Bending a Bow
early 16th century
drawing
Metropolitan Museum

French School
Cupids & Goddesses Reclining on Clouds
17th century
drawing
Victoria & Albert Museum

Juan CarreƱo de Miranda
Putto
17th century
drawing
Prado

Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli
Putto seated within Ornamental Frame
c. 1538-40
drawing
Metropolitan Museum

Guercino
Cumean Sibyl with Putto
17th century
National Gallery of Art (U.K.)

Master of Flora
The Birth of Cupid
c. 1550
Metropolitan Museum

Pompeo Batoni
Diana & Cupid
1761
Metropolitan Museum