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Putto

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chubby male child depicted in art

"Putti" redirects here. For other uses, seePutti (disambiguation).

"Amoretto" redirects here. Not to be confused withamaretto, an almond-flavored liqueur.

Renaissance putti, detail from theCamera degli Sposi, byAndrea Mantegna, 1465–1474, fresco,Ducal Palace,Mantua, Italy

Aputto (Italian:[ˈputto]; pluralputti[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 babyangel in religious art, often called acherub (plural cherubim), though in traditional Christian theology, a cherub is actually one of the most senior types of angel.^[3]^[4]

*Three Putti Next to aCartouche*, afterFrançois 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 ofclassical myth, and increasingly in general decorative art. InBaroque art the putto came to represent theomnipresence ofGod.^[2] A putto representing acupid is also called anamorino (pluralamorini) oramoretto (pluralamoretti).

Etymology

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Roman putti inThe Cupid Seller,National Archaeological Museum.

The more commonly found formputti is the plural of the Italian wordputto. The Italian word comes from the Latin wordputus, meaning "boy" or "child".^[5] Today, in Italian,putto means either toddler winged angel or, rarely, toddler boy. It may have been derived from the sameIndo-European root as theSanskrit word "putra" (meaning "boy child", as opposed to "son"),Avestanpuθra-,Old Persianpuça-,Pahlavi (Middle Persian)pus andpusar, all meaning "son", and the New Persianpesar "boy, son".

History

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SixByzantine putti attending to the goddess Hestia, on theHestia Tapestry, 6th century, tapestry,Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

Putti, in the ancient classical world of art, were winged infants that were believed to influence human lives. InRenaissance art, the form of the putto was derived in various ways including the GreekEros or RomanCupid (also called "Amor"), the god of love and companion ofAphrodite orVenus, respectively; the Romangenius, a type of guardian spirit; or sometimes the Greekdaimon, a type of messenger spirit, being halfway between the realms of the human and the divine.^[6]

Revival of the putto in the Renaissance

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Renaissance putti on the funerary monument ofIlaria del Carretto, byJacopo della Quercia, 1406–1408, marble,Lucca Cathedral, Lucca, Italy

Putti are a classical motif found primarily on childsarcophagi of the 2nd century, where they are depicted fighting, dancing, participating inbacchic rites, playing sports, etc.

The putto disappeared during theMiddle Ages and was revived during theQuattrocento. The revival of the figure of the putto is generally attributed toDonatello, inFlorence, in the 1420s, although there are some earlier manifestations (for example thetomb ofIlaria del Carretto, sculpted byJacopo della Quercia inLucca). 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 withChristian meanings and using it in new contexts such as musicianangels. 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 ofAmore-Attis is the most extreme of these. These are often termedspiritelli, 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 theEmbriachi 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-centuryItalian Renaissance art: the sleeping putto and the standing putto with an animal or other object.^[7]

Where putti are found

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Putti,cupids, andangels (see below) can be found in bothreligious andsecular art from the 1420s in Italy, the turn of the 16th century in theNetherlands andGermany, theMannerist period and lateRenaissance inFrance, and throughoutBaroque ceilingfrescoes. Many artists have depicted them, but among the best-known are the sculptorDonatello and the painterRaphael. The two relaxed and curious putti who appear at the foot of Raphael'sSistine Madonna are often reproduced.^[8]

They also experienced a major revival in the 19th century, where theygamboled through paintings by Frenchacademic painters, from advertisements toGustave Doré’s illustrations forOrlando Furioso.

Iconography of the putto

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Theiconography 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 withAphrodite, and so with romantic—or erotic—love
Associations with Heaven
Associations with peace, prosperity, mirth, and leisure

Historiography

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Thehistoriography 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'sInventing the Renaissance Putto.^[2]

Gallery

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Roman puttifrieze, 75–79 AD, fresco,House of the Vettii,Pompeii, Italy^[9]
Roman sarcophagus with putti,c. 160 AD, marble,Vatican Museums,Rome, Italy
Roman sarcophagus with a procession of drunk putti, which belongs to a child, with a procession of drunk putti, mid-2nd century, marble,Neues Museum,Berlin
Roman putti on columns of theSarcophagus of Junius Bassus, 389, marble,Museo del tesoro di San Pietro,St. Peter's Basilica,Vatican City^[10]
Roman putto on the Sarcophagus of Helena, 4th century,porphyry,Museo Pio-Clementino, part of theVatican Museums, Rome^[11]
Gothic mirror frame, by theEmbriachi workshop, 1st half of the 15th century, wood, bone, horn and bone marquetry,Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, Germany
Amore-Attis, byDonatello, 1436–1438, bronze,Bargello,Florence, Italy
Renaissance putti on a page ofDante'sDivine Comedy, byGherardo di Giovanni del Fora,c. 1474–1476, tempera colors, gold paint, gold leaf, and ink on parchment,Bargello, Florence^[12]
Renaissance putti on an elaborate fireplace with the crests ofFrançois I andClaude de France, in the Salle du Roi,Château of Blois,Blois, France, unknown architect, 1515–1524
Assumption of the Virgin, byTitian, 1516–1518, oil on panel,Frari Church,Venice, Italy
The Offering to Venus, by Titian, 1518–1519, oil on canvas,Museo del Prado,Madrid, Spain
Renaissance putti in the Codex Durlach 2, unknown illustrator, 1520, paintedillumination,Baden State Library,Karlsruhe, Germany
Baroque putti on theTomb of Ferdinand van den Eynde, designed and executed byFrançois Duquesnoy, 1633–1640, marble,Santa Maria dell'Anima, Rome, Italy
Baroque putti painted on theboiserie of a room from theHôtel Colbert de Villacerf, now in theMusée Carnavalet, Paris, unknown architect, sculptor and painter,c. 1650 [13]
Baroquegrotesques with putti on a door in theGalerie d'Apollon,Louvre Palace, Paris, byLouis Le Vau andCharles Le Brun, after 1661^[14]
Rococo bedroom from theCa' Sagredo in Venice, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, byCarpoforo Mazzetti Tencalla andAbbondio Stazio,c. 1720 or later
The Rape of Europa, byFrançois Boucher,c. 1732–1734, oil on canvas,Wallace Collection,London, United Kingdom^[15]
Rococo relief ofDiana with two putti above the entrance of theAmalienburg,Munich, Germany, designed byFrançois de Cuvilliés, 1734–1739
Rocococartouche with putti in the Cabinet de la Pendule,Palace of Versailles, France, created and sculpted byJacques Verberckt, 1738^[16]
Pair of rocococandelabra, by theChelsea porcelain factory, 18th century, soft-paste porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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
Louis XVI style firedog with putti that warm themselves at a flame, 1780–1790,ormolu,Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Louis XVI style candelabrum with putto, late 18th century, gilt and patinated bronze,Musée Jacquemart-André,Paris, France
Second Empire style (Louis XVI Revival style) clock, unknown sculptor, dial and mechanism byFerdinand Berthoud,c. 1860, gilt bronze,Château de Compiègne, France
The Birth of Venus, byWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1879, oil on canvas,Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
Art Nouveau putti in asgraffito panel on the House ofJean Baes (Rue Van Moer no. 12),Brussels,Belgium, sgraffito byHenri Baes, 1889^[17]
Door knocker ofAvenue Kléber no. 21, Paris, France, unknown architect and sculptor,c. 1890
Renaissance Revival putti on the cover of a magazine with sheets of music byJan Ladislav Dussek,c. 1890, ink on paper, private collection
Beaux-Arts street light with putti, byHenri Désiré Gauquié,c. 1896–1900, bronze,Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France
Art Nouveau putti and anymph on an advertising poster for Pétrole Stella, byHenri Gray, 1897, coloured lithograph,Library of Congress,Washington, D.C., US
Rococo Revival polychrome frame with a putto in a round niche, unknown workshop or designer,c. 1900, painted metal, private collection
Beaux-Arts putti onBulevardul Regina Elisabeta no. 41,Bucharest,Romania, unknown architect,c. 1900
Secessionist putto with twocornucopias with floral cascades, byMichael Powolny, designed inc. 1907, produced in 1912, ceramic,Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin^[18]
Beaux Arts putto on the Vasile Urseanu House, the currentBucharest Observatory (Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu no. 21),Bucharest, Romania, designed byIon D. Berindey, 1908–1910^[19]
Renaissance Revival grotesque with putti on the Doctor Răuțoiu House (Strada Tache Ionescu no. 29), Bucharest, designed byGregoire Marc andErnest Doneaud,c. 1910 [20]
Beaux Artsstucco with putti on a ceiling inPiața Romană no. 3, Bucharest, Romania, designed bySiegfired Kofsinski and C. Crețoiu, 1912
Beaux Arts putto on a balcony balustrade of theHôtel Claridge (Avenue des Champs-Élysées no. 74), designed byCharles Lefebvre orLouis Duhayon, 1914
Art Deco reliefs of putti onRue de Vaugirard no. 60, Paris, France, unknown architect,c. 1930

References

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^"arthistory.about.com". arthistory.about.com. 2012-04-13. Archived fromthe original on 2013-04-02. Retrieved2012-12-30.
^^a ^b ^cDempsey, Charles.Inventing the Renaissance Putto. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill and London, 2001.
^"cherub".American Heritage Dictionary.Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved24 May 2016."British & World English: cherub".OxfordDictionaries.com. Retrieved24 May 2016.^{[permanent dead link]}
^"Ezekiel 10:6-14".Bible Gateway. Retrieved3 October 2025.
^Harper, Douglas."putti".Online Etymology Dictionary.
^Struthers, Sally A. "Donatello's 'Putti': Their Genesis, Importance, and Influence on Quattrocento Sculpture and Painting. (Volumes I and II). (PhD Dissertation)" The Ohio State University, 1992. United States – OhioLINK ETD.
^Korey, ALexandra M. "Putti, Pleasure, and Pedagogy in Sixteenth-Century Italian Prints and Decorative Arts." The University of Chicago, 2007. United States – Illinois:ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT). Web. 23 Oct. 2011.
^"Loggia.com". Loggia.com. Archived fromthe original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved2012-12-30.
^Fabrizo Pesando, Marco Bussagli, Gioia Mori (2003).Pompei - La Pittura (in Italian). Giunti. p. 22.ISBN 88-09-03206-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Gombrich, E. H. (2020).Istoria Artei (in Romanian). ART. p. 128.ISBN 978-606-710-751-7.
^Virginia, L. Campbell (2017).Ancient Rome - Pocket Museum. Thames & Hudson. p. 265.ISBN 978-0-500-51959-2.
^Gombrich, E. H. (2020).Istoria Artei (in Romanian). ART. p. 266.ISBN 978-606-710-751-7.
^"LAMBRIS DU CABINET DE L'HÔTEL COLBERT DE VILLACERF".carnavalet.paris.fr. Retrieved31 August 2023.
^Sharman, Ruth (2022).Yves Saint Laurent & Art. Thames & Hudson. p. 147.ISBN 978-0-500-02544-4.
^"The Rape of Europa / National Galleries of Scotland".Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved2020-11-05.
^Martin, Henry (1928).La Grammaire des Styles - Le Style Louis XV (in French). Flammarion. p. 61.
^Façades Art Nouveau - Les Plus Beaux sgraffites de Bruxelles. [aparté]. 2005. p. 185.ISBN 2-930327-13-8.
^Wilhide, Elizabeth (2022).Design - The Whole Story. Thames & Hudson. p. 105.ISBN 978-0-500-29687-5.
^"Un arhitect pentru secole" (in Romanian).Digi24. 29 August 2016.
^Ștefan Micu."Casa Rautoiu – arhitect Gregoire Marc (Strada Take Ionescu 29)".bucurestiivechisinoi.ro. Retrieved4 September 2023.

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toPutti.

Look upputto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 1,400 images of Amoretti in secular contexts)

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