Pair of Baroque cherubs carved in gilded wood, Italy / Spain / South of France, ca 1600

Pair of European carved cherubs in gilded wood, hands tied behind their backs, probably Italy, Spain (possibly southern France), circa 1580-1630.

Carved in an early religious Baroque style.

Very good general condition, old gilding slightly worn (not restored), some cracks in the woodwork due to age. 

Gilding carved wood with gold leaf was extremely common in altarpieces and church decorations.

The expressive gilded kneeling angels and the treatment of the bodies (full forms, soft hair, gentle expression) are more reminiscent of the late Renaissance or early Baroque (i.e. between the end of the XVI? and the beginning of the XVII? century), with particular attention paid to the movement of the body and the tenderness of the features.

The fairly realistic appearance, but without decorative overload (no visible wings, no exaggerated drapery), may bring to mind Baroque art of Spanish or Italian influence, rather for a local church commission.

In European religious art (Renaissance and Baroque in particular), sculptures of kneeling cherubs or putti with bound hands are quite rare and often symbolise captured innocence or voluntary submission to God. They may also represent the ‘captivity of sin', or in certain church decorations, an image of ‘humility and sacrifice'. Depending on where the figures were originally placed (under an altar, for example, or in a staging of the Passion of Christ), they would have been used in a variety of ways.

Angelot, love, putti or cherub?

Angelot: Small winged child, often naked, symbol of innocence or divine presence, used in European religious or decorative art.

Love : In art, the figure of a winged child inspired by Eros, representing profane or romantic love, particularly in Renaissance sculpture and painting.

Putti: Naked children, sometimes winged, joyful or symbolic decorative figures in Italian Renaissance and Baroque art.

Cherub: A celestial being from biblical tradition, often represented in sculpture by a child's head surrounded by wings, a symbol of the divine presence.

Packing and delivery costs to be expected:
Collection: Free.
For Belgium: 30€.
For France: 50€.
For Europe: 80€.
For the rest of the world: 300€.