Putto

"Putti" redirects here. For other uses, see Putti (disambiguation).
"Amoretto" redirects here. Not to be confused with amaretto, an almond-flavored liqueur.
Renaissance putti, detail from the Camera degli Sposi, by Andrea Mantegna, 1465-1474, fresco, Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy

A putto (Italian: [ˈputto]; plural putti [ˈputti])[1] is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,[2] the putto came to represent a sort of baby angel in religious art, often called a cherub (plural cherubim), though in traditional Christian theology a cherub is actually one of the most senior types of angel.[3]

Three Putti Next to a Cartouche, after François Boucher, 1727–1760, etching and engraving, 26.5 × 21.5 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

The same figures were also seen in representations of classical myth, and increasingly in general decorative art. In Baroque art the putto came to represent the omnipresence of God.[2] A putto representing a cupid is also called an amorino (plural amorini) or amoretto (plural amoretti).

  1. ^ "arthistory.about.com". arthistory.about.com. 2012-04-13. Archived from the original on 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  2. ^ a b Dempsey, Charles. Inventing the Renaissance Putto. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill and London, 2001.
  3. ^ "cherub". American Heritage Dictionary. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016."British & World English: cherub". OxfordDictionaries.com. Retrieved 24 May 2016.[permanent dead link‍]