putto

A chubby male child, usually nude and sometimes winged depicted in works of art

A putto is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism, the putto came to represent the sacred cherub, and in Baroque art the putto came to represent the omnipresence of God. A putto representing a cupid is also called an amorino or amoretto.

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