Zwei nach links fliegende Amoretten 

Guercino rendered these two cherubs in flight with red chalk, sometime around 1615. These 'amoretti,' winged infants of Greco-Roman origin, are more than mere decoration. They are potent symbols of love, desire, and divine affection. Consider, for instance, the Renaissance paintings where cherubs cluster around the Virgin Mary, or the Baroque ceilings where they frolic amidst clouds, orchestrating emotional crescendos. But let us not forget the darker side of Eros, the Greek god of love, whose arrows could inflict madness and despair. In Guercino’s hands, these cherubs transcend mere sweetness. They embody an irrepressible force, a primal energy that pulses through the human psyche. They are a visual echo of our deepest desires and fears, a reminder of love's intoxicating power to both elevate and destroy. This dialectic has been with us since antiquity, resurfacing in countless forms, each time colored by the anxieties and aspirations of the age.