"Amoretto" redirects here. Not to be confused with
amaretto, an almond-flavored liqueur.
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
cherubs (plural cherubim), though in traditional Christian theology a cherub is actually one of the most senior types of angel.[3]
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).
Etymology
The more commonly found form putti is the plural of the Italian word putto. The Italian word comes from the Latin word putus, meaning "boy" or "child".[4] Today, in Italian, putto means either toddler winged angel or, rarely, toddler boy. It may have been derived from the same Indo-European root as the Sanskrit word "putra" (meaning "boy child", as opposed to "son"), Avestan puθra-, Old Persian puça-, Pahlavi (Middle Persian) pus and pusar, all meaning "son", and the New Persian pesar "boy, son".
History
Putti, in the ancient classical world of art, were winged infants that were believed to influence human lives. In
Renaissance art, the form of the putto was derived in various ways including the
GreekEros or
RomanAmor/
Cupid, the god of love and companion of
Aphrodite or
Venus; the Roman,
genius, a type of guardian spirit; or sometimes the Greek,
daemon, a type of messenger spirit, being halfway between the realms of the human and the divine.[5]
Revival of the putto in the Renaissance
Putti are a classical motif found primarily on child
sarcophagi of the 2nd century, where they are depicted fighting,
dancing, participating in
bacchic rites, playing
sports, etc.
The putto disappeared during the
Middle Ages and was revived during the
Quattrocento. The revival of the figure of the putto is generally attributed to
Donatello, in
Florence, in the 1420s, although there are some earlier manifestations (for example the
tomb of
Ilaria del Carretto, sculpted by
Jacopo della Quercia in
Lucca). Since then, Donatello has been called the originator of the putto because of the contribution to art he made in restoring the classical form of putto. He gave putti a distinct character by infusing the form with
Christian meanings and using it in new contexts such as musician
angels. Putti also began to feature in works showing figures from classical mythology, which became popular in the same period.
Some of Donatello's putti are rather older than the usual toddler type, and also behaving in a less than angelic way. The bronze figure of Amore-Attis is the most extreme of these. These are often termed spiritelli, sometimes translated as "
imps". Older putto-like figures are seen in other art; they are very typical as winged teenage boys in the borders of works by the
Embriachi workshop from the years around 1400.
Most Renaissance putti are essentially decorative and they ornament both religious and secular works, without usually taking any actual part in the events depicted in narrative paintings. There are two popular forms of the putto as the main subject of a work of art in 16th-century
Italian Renaissance art: the sleeping putto and the standing putto with an animal or other object.[6]
Where putti are found
Putti,
cupids, and
angels (see below) can be found in both
religious and
secular art from the 1420s in Italy, the turn of the 16th century in the
Netherlands and
Germany, the
Mannerist period and late
Renaissance in
France, and throughout
Baroque ceiling
frescoes. Many artists have depicted them, but among the best-known are the sculptor
Donatello and the painter
Raphael. The two relaxed and curious putti who appear at the foot of Raphael's
Sistine Madonna are often reproduced.[7]
They also experienced a major revival in the 19th century, where they
gamboled through paintings by French
academic painters, from advertisements to
Gustave Doré’s illustrations for Orlando Furioso.
Iconography of the putto
The
iconography of putti is deliberately unfixed, so that it is difficult to tell the difference between putti, cupids, and various forms of angels. They have no unique, immediately identifiable attributes, so that putti may have many meanings and roles in the context of art.
Some of the more common associations are:
Associations with
Aphrodite, and so with romantic—or erotic—love
Associations with Heaven
Associations with peace, prosperity, mirth, and leisure
Historiography
The
historiography of this subject matter is very short. Many art historians have commented on the importance of the putto in art, but few have undertaken a major study. One useful scholarly examination is Charles Dempsey's Inventing the Renaissance Putto.[2]
Pair of Chinese vases with French Rococo mounts, the vases: early 18th century, the mounts: 1760–1770, hard-paste porcelain with ormolu mounts, Metropolitan Museum of Art