Putti; Cherubs; Cupid: What's the Difference?

Cherubic art has winged its way to our hearts and our shabby cottage chic decor. Although the terms putti, cherubs, and cupids are each synonymous with pudgy round little winged motifs, mostly boys - the artistic rendering in subject matter and meaning are decidedly different and should never be confused.

Because I often paint cherubs; and I wanted all of my cherubs to be innocent and sweet, I've exhaustively researched the finer points of cherubic art. How does one know the difference?

Putti - meaning "children" in old Italian. Compositions with emphasis on profane, cultish ceremonies of abandoned revelry often pairing putti with females in different stages of dress or nudity. May also be with just one female, either nude or dressed. The facial expressions of putti generally lack the innocence of cherubs and cupids. Rule of thumb: If there is a female in the painting, it's generally secular and considered putti -not an innocent cherub. An example of putti may be seen here.

Ancient Cupid of Roman Mythology: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Ancient Roman god of love in all its varieties, identified with the Greek Eros. Cupid was the son of Mercury and Venus. He was usually represented as a winged infant who carried a bow and quiver of arrows, which he shot at humans to inflict wounds that inspired love or passion. He was also sometimes depicted as a beautiful youth. Though generally considered beneficent, he could be mischievous in matchmaking, often at his mother's behest.

Most of us are familiar with reproductions of the above painting, L'Amour et Psyche, Enfants, 1873, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau . It is often cropped so that the emphasis is on the kiss, deemphasizing the nudity.

Modern Cupids: Sweet little baby-faced figures with bow and arrows often used for Valentine Day card illustrations. Especially appealing in vintage valentines as shown below. Certainly secular, but there isn't anything in the sentiment to cause unease.

Cherubs: Cherubs or cherubim are the first angels mentioned in the Bible and are said to stand next to the Throne of God. In the Bible, they are described as four-winged creatures - a far cry from the baby-like cherubs with which we are so familiar. Since the cherubs did not appear until Adam and Eve committed the original sin, many feel the cherubs represent Adam and Eve - naked and innocent - in the Garden of Eden. It follows naturally that cherubs are often cast as guardians in garden settings, surrounded with florals, busy with their work of tending to nature, protection and adding to the beauty of gardens. Many are used in outdoor statuary and fountains. Their expressions can be sweet or fiercely protective. Cherubs have become symbolic of wee guardian angels in our homes.

My Paintings of Cherubic Art: Below, two of my original paintings, each of cherubs, spotlight two different "looks", each designed to convey an essence of guardianship. The first painting, shows motion of a determined garden cherub or angel protector, not near as babyish, with what I hoped to depict as a serious expression of being fully on guard for danger to those for whom he is responsible. He is carrying a dipper of water, evocative of his role as provider for the area and those under his care.The second cherub is descending - curious about a new nest of eggs. I reached for an expression of sweet wonder on this cherub's face. I tried to show that the birds were comfortable with the cherub , unthreatened, without the instinctive need to protect their eggs - they know this sweet cherub intends no harm. My goal in composition and design is to always strive to capture the purity and innocence of cherubic art, never putti; because there is a big difference...

Click Photos to enlarge

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MOTIF TRENDS 2008: Watch for More Crowns, Fleur de Lis, Crosses, Keys

Watching decorative trends evolve in home furnishings and accessories often makes me think of the riddle, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Do markets drive consumers taste or do consumers drive the markets? Usually, a mix of both, I think. However, the motif direction for 2008, is in my opinion, clearly driven by consumer taste for vintage motifs.

The dominant motifs will be crowns, fleur de lis, crosses, and keys. If new introductions in the recent Dallas market are an indicator, we will see the motifs used in everything from candleholders, lighting, and wall art to small table top accessories. How very interesting...

Those very motifs began to find a place in the hearts of shabby chic vintage collections as least eighteen months ago. This clearly appears to be a trend generated first by consumer enthusiasm and the market is now playing catch-up.

Watch for the reproductions in intricate ironwork and scrolled metals, carved in wood, and rendered in molds.

Will these motifs replace roses as a motif? Nooo, floral motifs are in a category all their own. Personally, I think I'll continue to have mine - well aged and vintage.

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Art: Telling A Story With My Paintbrush

Don't forget all photos enlarge when clicked.

Above: Cherubic Guardian of Bluebirds & Nest



Copyright 2007: Original Painting by Devonia;

Rendered on Exquisitely Fragile Antique Concave Glass;
Framed in Delicate Gold Filigree with
Crown of Handpiped Barbola Vintage Style Roses

Above: Two Courtin' Crows by Devonia


Textile Design 1985

Above: Goose & Kittens


Textile Design by Devonia 1985

In my heart-of-hearts, I have always harbored a secret desire to illustrate children's stories. From the early designs for fabric art patterns to my current work, I think much of my art reflects that desire. The above photos show my inclination to allow my art to suggest a story. I hope it says something to you.

If you enjoyed seeing these photos of my artwork, you might enjoy seeing my Art Gallery. See link below.

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Garden Furniture: I Pulled Unmatched Pieces Together with DIY Mosaics

Garden furniture has come a long way. Aristotle loved to lecture outdoors at his home. Unfortunately, the weather sometimes left the grounds wet leaving the students no place to sit with comfort. Flocks of his students went to the local marble quarries for a slab of broken marble, plopped it down in Aristotle's garden; and thus, the first garden seat was born. Mosaics is also an ancient craft and combining the two - garden furniture with mosaics - can transform "trash into treasure".

This photo is a photo of a project I did as a layout, commissioned and published by The Underground Shopper, demonstrating how flawed, unmatched pieces, collected from here and there at an incredible discount, were magically married to create a wonderful garden retreat in our backyard.

I remember having such fun with it. My whole family was involved, one perfect spring weekend, in cutting the marble tiles and placing them in vined patterns. We created a table top, seats, trivets and even covered the pots and chimneria. The project was not without learning curve disasters. The first table top was done on a wood table round, donated by Home Depot for the project, and I sealed it only on one side. When it was finished, we were so pleased with it. Then the next day we watched, helplessly, as the moisture permeated the wood top and it bowed until it looked like a taco shell.

Not daring to admit to the Home Depot manager that I ruined their wood round, we bought another. This time, prior to starting the mosaic, BOTH sides were sealed and the grouting was sealed too - problem solved.

In exchange for the advertisement of their products, every single thing in the photo, including the baker's rack, the chimneria, and the plants, was donated and ours to keep and enjoy. I was especially sad to lose the miniature roses nestling on the baker's rack- I lack a green thumb. Roasting marshmellows in a chimneria while little ones chase fireflies is such a memory-making treat; and it was a happy morning spot to start a new day. Over all, not too shabby, heh? Doesn't it make you long for spring?

Click on the photo to see an enlargement that is a burst of color that promises flowers around the corner.

Trespassing for Treasure: Searching High & Low

My husband grew up in an area east of our city. He loves to drive through the streets of his old neighborhood and relate stories of his childhood. He can point to house after house once the homes of his friends, schools he attended, corner stores where he bought treats charged to his dad's credit account because the store owner knew him. Ahhhh, the good ol' days!

There was one vacant and abandoned two-story building he frequently pointed out, telling me of the different businesses this structure had housed in his lifetime. He was certain it remained full of many treasures and itched to get inside. Imagine his dismay when, in passing one evening, he realized the structure was being gutted. A large backhoe and other heavy machinery was being used to level the land behind; the missing doors and broken windows made it clear the building was going too.

He parked, hailed a man standing nearby and peppered the man with questions. During the conversation, he learned that the contents had been cleared in a sale held inside the old building a month earlier; the wonderful collectibles were all gone. My husband looked so down-heartened that the man encouraged him to go inside - he might find something overlooked.

My husband spent about an hour exploring a basement room, rare in our area, and the ground floor. He was still empty-handed. Windows were open to the upstairs but there was no way to reach the second floor. The man explained that the upstairs had once been the home of the owner and his family and the living areas had been walled off years ago. The glint in my husband's eyes sparkled... but, he couldn't find a way to scale the outside wall.

It was a brick building, and outside it went straight up. Since the ceilings were very high on the ground floor, it was at least sixteen or more feet to the small upper windows. There was a bit of roof remaining in the front; however, it was unsafe for support or climbing. There just was no way- or was there?



The man whistled to the backhoe operator, spoke to him for a minute and then the driver drove to the side of the structure, lowered the scoop and motioned for my husband and I to climb in if we wanted a lift. My husband hopped right in and reached to lift me over. I hesitated long enough to make sure there were no worms, snakes or other crawlies in the scoop first. Then up, up, we went - right to the open window. One leg over and we were in!

Alas, there wasn't much to find. I craved the gorgeous floral wool rug underfoot but as my husband pointed out - years and years of dust had left it unsalvageable. In the closets, I found some wonderful forties or earlier hats - but the moths had beat me to them. We kept looking - thrilled to explore a little bit of this historical building before it was lost forever. An hour or two later, all my husband had found was a handful of Cracker Jack toys . After all of the excitement, it was time to go.

There was only one problem. The backhoe was still in the back field but the operator was gone. In fact, it appeared e'body was gone! We had obviously been forgotten....

My husband finally spied the man who had summoned the backhoe operator. Noooo, he couldn't lift us out - he had no key and yes, the operators of all of the heavy equipment had gone home for the day. The man left and returned soon with a rickety old wood ladder -about six feet tall. He leaned that old ladder against the side and supported it as my husband climbed over the window, backwards, and easily dropped to the top of the ladder. No problem, he's six foot tall and has long legs. Then it was my turn.

I froze, petrified. At five foot one inches tall, I lacked the advantage my husband had (and I'm naturally clumsy too). My husband started softly coaxing me to climb into the open window, turn around, ease off the side allowing my legs to dangle, and drop. He would be there to catch me. Ha! Any fool could see that I was going to have to free-drop at least three feet before he could catch me. He reminded me that it would be dark soon, the old building probably had rats, and...

"Trust me," he said.

With my heart in my throat, I asked the Lord to help my children forgive my husband because he missed, climbed into the window, turned around, eased over and dropped.

Would I do it again? I don't know - it would be a really tough decision for me. The adventure/trespassing or the drop? But maybe if this fellow offered us a lift?