Lillith the Putto

"Lillith, the Putto" Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24 inches

I have just finished a new painting! This is Lillith, one of the "studio Putti" which you may or may not be familiar with by now. If you aren't you are welcome to familiarize yourself with this charming Renaissance/Baroque convention here. Speaking of which, I've come across another good definition of the Putto in art:

Art historian Juan Carlos Martinez writes:

"Originally, Cherubs and Putti had distinctly different roles, with the former being sacred, and the latter, profane. That is, Cherubs and Seraphs (Cherubim, Seraphim) are Angels, occupying the highest angelic orders in Heaven and are thus the closest to God. On the other hand, Putti, arise from Greco-Roman classical mythos (i.e., non-Christian). They are associated with Eros/Cupid as well as with the Muse, Erato; the muse of lyric and love poetry...
"Putti – which comes from the Latin, putus, meaning 'little man' – are...not so much babies as they are 'not human'. They are spiritual beings and thus depicted in their typically odd fashion; as winged little people of indeterminate gender. Using babies as models for Putti (or for Cherubs, either) doesn't quite get across the true concept of 'Putti-ness' as they (babies) are too guileless, for one thing, whereas Putti are clever and purposeful. They are there to help Cupid/Eros facilitate the onset of profane love – or secular, non-religious love, as between two people, rather than the love as between a human and God. Probably, it was artists' attempts to avoid simply painting babies that has led to so many rather odd and, often, ugly, Putti. Sometimes they nailed it, sometimes not.
"By the time the Baroque Era came about, which might arguably have been the high point for Cherubim and Putti, both of these little beings were usually being depicted in the same way. Which one they were, simply depended upon the theme of the painting or sculpture: If religious (sacred) – they were Cherubs. If secular or mythic (profane) – they were Putti.
"In either case, they'd be hard to pull off successfully today because most people are unaware of their roles in semiotics, or in philosophy/mythology/history, or in religion."[4] - from Wikipedia

Returning to the subject of this painting, Lillith was my first Putto. She came to the studio in April and has been wearing pink ever since. There are about a dozen Putti now, each with his or her own peculiar look. I like to think of them as "little personalities", almost a natural progression from depicting characterful Venetian Masks (the comedy, the tragedy, the plague doctor, the jolly, etc..). Every so often they make their way into one of my paintings and play a kind of supporting role if you will. In this case however I felt like making a small painting focusing on a Putto.


There are several things I really like about this painting. The first is Lillith's subtle gesture in reaching for the cake. Her ponderous and overlarge foot sticks out in a comic way, typical of her kind. She is dressed in Victorian finery but there is the wild, untamed spirit inherent in her species. Caravaggio did a few paintings like this in his early 20's (see "Boy with a Basket of Fruit, and "Boy Bitten by a Lizard"). In both these paintings we see a youth placed before opulence, sporting a dreamy face, often with a hint of danger lurking in the dark.

I deliberately painted a floral tapestry in background to contrast with the live peonies that bloom in the glass vase; the 2D contrasting the 3D. I wanted it to look almost as if the peonies were emerging from the tapestry itself. Pink is definitely the dominating color of this painting as seen in the pink the dress, flowers, and cake icing. This sounds obvious, but is notable because this painting is fraught with detail. It is practically a frothy explosion of pink and white! All these folds of drapery, twists and turns of embroidery, layers of petals, these are all things which could completely override a painting and yet it sits reasonably well together.

This painting (24x 24) is also a perfect square. I have been toying with this unusual format lately. It really lends solidity to a work and gives off a sense of calm and matter of fact neatness. Lillith's compact stature undoubtedly lends itself well to this cropping.

Detail of the foot and cake.