Caravaggio. Amor Vincit Omnia? (Part II)
The idea of “Omnia Vincit Amor”, or love conquers all, was first introduced by the poet Virgil in his tenth Eclogue, which was published sometime around 37 B.C and the influence that this phrase had on the art that followed is something worthy of an in-depth analysis. Maybe another time for time is precious and as this is Part II — it is not absolutely necessary to have read Part I — I wish to be as succinct as possible.
It is essential to recognize the way that Cupid has been used as both the personification of ‘love’ and an attribute of the allegory of ‘love conquering all’, in the visual and poetic representation of the Virgilian theme. There were no variations upon the theme until Caravaggio, when he single-handedly brought real life directly into his art. This had something to do with his own artistic method and something to do with the man himself. His models were friends and lovers, both male and female.
For his Cupid was not the standard iconographic portrayal of the Roman god of love — Caravaggio had based this ambitious work upon Michelangelo’s ‘Victory’ — yet his, was something completely different. His ‘Cupid’ was earthy, vibrant, sexual and utterly unabashed at his nakedness in front of the viewer. Caravaggio’s portrayal is as far from the normative pictorial allegory of love as you can get, yet it still exquisitely and cleverly…
