Three putti holding aloft a garland 1850 - 1900

Curator: Before us, we have "Three putti holding aloft a garland," a pencil drawing on paper dating from 1850 to 1900. It's part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My first impression is… wistful. Delicate lines on a very plain background, like a memory sketched onto old parchment. Curator: Yes, there's a tenderness. The artist has captured these putti, these cherubic figures, with such lightness of touch. The garland itself seems to float. They are a very romantic vision. I wonder if there are undertones beyond a simply 'cute' subject. Editor: Ah, yes, putti. In Renaissance and Baroque art, we see them representing divine love, salvation, sometimes even souls in the afterlife. I almost wonder if we have this beautiful symbolism inverted. In many cases, these symbols represented aristocracy, who often saw themselves close to deities or even placed themselves in equal stance. What you notice about this image is that they are struggling with the heavy burden of the garland; they are holding this beautiful symbol of abundance, with difficulty. Curator: Absolutely. You have them caught here, really grappling with the physical burden of the garland, the struggle. Their vulnerability, as opposed to an image of triumph or ascension, renders the image so human, so reachable. The lightness of their forms and of the medium –pencil on paper– gives them such incredible fragility! Editor: And isn’t that precisely the human condition? Yearning for those elevated ideals—love, salvation, beauty—while simultaneously struggling to carry the weight of earthly existence? This picture really emphasizes a departure from classical perfection, embracing an inherent tension between the ideal and the real. This drawing marks the end of the absolute ideal of "the Angelic", an artistic revolution in many aspects. Curator: It does leave us pondering the beauty and burdens we carry. In the garland that they hold aloft, in this delicate medium that contains the subject in a very vulnerable frame. What is heavy? And what makes the load worth carrying? Editor: For me, this drawing reminds me of art's continuous search to connect with its audiences in the emotional dimensions. What a legacy.