(Cherubs and Fountain)
Y. Airic
Found 06/2007, Goodwill (183 and Metric)

Laurels and a classical motif uplift this image of two unpleasant children into the realm of Greek art. Though the classical Greeks were aware of perspective, paintings of this period were flat and lacked the artistic tricks of foreshortening and vanishing point. The unnatural blue of the laurel leaves leave the laurels floating in the foreground, enabling the children, thankfully, to recede into the darkened depths of the paintings.

The child at left has hidden his face from the world. The one at right is visible, his face unnaturally aged. It is believed that he is based on a portrait of Emperor Vespasian, whose reign was, called, by contemporaries, “odious.” The chalice he holds resembles a crescent moon, alluding again to Vespassian, who held the Roman Empire in his hand, and dropped it down the Cloaca Maxima.