Flemish school, Follower of PIETER PAUL RUBENS... Lot n° 20

Flemish school, Follower of PIETER PAUL RUBENS (Siegen, Germany, 1577 - Antwerp, Belgium, 1640); 17th century. "Cupid." Oil on canvas. Relined. Presents repainting. Measurements: 51 x 44 cm. The image represented here can be identified with the portrait of the God Cupid due to its wings. Cupid, equivalent to the Greek Eros, was the primordial god of amorous desire, also related to fertility. The most widespread myth describes him as the son of Venus and Mars, since he unites love and violence in his nature. In Roman art he could be represented as an ephebus or as a child, winged and armed with bow and arrows. Sometimes he is also represented blindfolded, symbol of the blindness of amorous passion. Other of his iconographic attributes are the flaming torch and the rose, emblem of the delicious but fleeting pleasures he procures. Her wings are also a symbol of transience. Due to its formal characteristics, this painting can be related to the circle of Peter Paul Rubens, a painter of the Flemish school who, however, competed on equal terms with contemporary Italian artists, and enjoyed a very important international transcendence, since his influence was also key in other schools, as is the case of the passage to the full baroque in Spain. Although born in Westphalia, Rubens grew up in Antwerp, where his family originated. After his training, Rubens joined the Antwerp painters' guild in 1598. Only two years later he made a trip to Italy, where he stayed between 1600 and 1608. During these decisive dates, the young Flemish master was able to learn first-hand about naturalism and classicism, the works of Caravaggio and the Carracci.