Twee putti stoeiend bij een plant in pot 1675 - 1685

This print, now at the Rijksmuseum, is by Pietro Antonio Cotta. The eye is immediately drawn to the contrasting emotions etched on the putti's faces and the composition, which teeters between balance and playful asymmetry. Cotta uses the stark lines of the engraving to play with depth and texture. The robust forms of the putti contrast with the delicate floral arrangement in the vase, creating a visual dialogue about nature and the human form. Notice how one putto seems to aggressively grab the other's hair as he dangles precariously off the vase, a study of raw, unidealized emotion that challenges the conventions of classical beauty. The vase grounds the composition but the dynamic interaction destabilizes any fixed sense of order. This print invites us to consider how classical forms can be infused with a sense of lively disorder. By juxtaposing idealized bodies with raw emotion, Cotta engages in a larger discourse about the relationship between form and feeling.