From: The Guardian
Caravaggio
Victorious Cupid
1601-1602
The full-frontal menace of Caravaggio's boldest painting creates one of art's most unsettling encounters. Cupid is a real youth, modeled, it was said in the 17th century, after his own boyfriend "that lay with him". He poses as the god of love, wearing fake wings, grinning insouciantly at the embarrassed onlooker as the painting's severe light leads all eyes to his nudity. Is this what it felt like to be a cardinal eyeing up the trade in baroque Rome? Caravaggio's anarchistic tribute to the destructive power of desire – the stuff of civilization lies defeated at Cupid's feet – is eternally worrying.
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