Triumphant Cupid among Emblems of Art and War

In the seventeenth century there was a palpable desire to master and explain one’s surroundings. Reality was to be conquered, measured, calculated, and understood. But the understanding of the world, and humankind’s place in it, also brought with it a deep crisis when the religious worldview was shaken by new theories. In this painting the god of love is seated among scientific instruments, artist…