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I didn't truly enjoy Caravaggio's paintings until I saw this piece, entitled "Amor Vincit Omnia." The title translates to "Love Conquers All" (I'm fully aware of how cheesy that sounds, but in Italian, it sounds much better). Anyway, the church sought many paintings from Caravaggio as altar pieces, although each time, he insulted them by "de-glorifiying" famous saints and such. More importantly, at least to me, is the fact this particular painting lacks traditional gender standards (many of Caravaggio's paintings depict Bacchus-like males, but none so elegant as this one). I admire Caravaggio for painting whatever he wanted, instead of being a sucker for commissions like so many artists. More importantly, this painting is undeniably beautiful. It shows the male form as pure, playful, and semi-dainty. Oddly enough, the only other vulnerable male depicted in art that I can think of off the top of my head is Jesus Christ. It's strange that an entire religion can be based off of a man's vulnerability, but a large majority of art depicted thereafter of male mortals idealizes stoicism and muscle.
Caravaggio's "Amor Vincit Omnia"
I didn't truly enjoy Caravaggio's paintings until I saw this piece, entitled "Amor Vincit Omnia." The title translates to "Love Conquers All" (I'm fully aware of how cheesy that sounds, but in Italian, it sounds much better). Anyway, the church sought many paintings from Caravaggio as altar pieces, although each time, he insulted them by "de-glorifiying" famous saints and such. More importantly, at least to me, is the fact this particular painting lacks traditional gender standards (many of Caravaggio's paintings depict Bacchus-like males, but none so elegant as this one). I admire Caravaggio for painting whatever he wanted, instead of being a sucker for commissions like so many artists. More importantly, this painting is undeniably beautiful. It shows the male form as pure, playful, and semi-dainty. Oddly enough, the only other vulnerable male depicted in art that I can think of off the top of my head is Jesus Christ. It's strange that an entire religion can be based off of a man's vulnerability, but a large majority of art depicted thereafter of male mortals idealizes stoicism and muscle.
