Landschap met drie putti 1573 - 1610

Christoph Jamnitzer created this landscape with three putti through etching around the turn of the 17th century. Nuremberg, where Jamnitzer was active, was a hub of artistic and intellectual exchange during the Northern Renaissance. The playful putti, or cherubic figures, are classical motifs, often associated with love, innocence, and abundance and these are set against a landscape with soldiers. We may consider the possible symbolism of warfare as a contrast to the putti. Does the artwork comment on the violence of the time? Is it self-consciously conservative or progressive? Does it critique the institutions of art? Further research into emblem books, popular during this era, might reveal more about the symbolic meanings embedded in Jamnitzer's work. The social context is key to our understanding.