Putto in Spring

This putto  is my Raphael/Donatello, although I am in no way comparing my work to that of the masters. I just wanted to master the “M” setting on my Nikon D5100 to hopefully accomplish detail AND the bokeh you see in the background.

My putto sits on a pedestal in front of a lilac bush in my front yard. The head on this angelic garden statue is about the size of a baseball and the little bird is about 1 inch long.

Just so you don’t have to Google the word putto, Wikipedia defines it as: a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually nude and sometimes winged. Putti are distinct from cherubim. In the plural, “the Cherubim” refers to the biblical angels. While “cherubs” represent the second order of angels,^[2] putti are secular and present a non-religious passion.^[3] However, in the Baroque period of art, the putto came to represent the omnipresence of God.^[3] A putto representing a cupid is also called an amorino (plural amorini).

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as: a nude, chubby child figure, often with wings, frequently appearing in both mythological and religious paintings and sculpture, especially of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Derived from personifications of love, or Eros figures, in Greek and Roman art, putti came to be used to portray cherubim in Italian paintings of the 15th century, especially those of the Madonna and Child. With the revival of classical mythological subjects in the late 15th century, Cupid was commonly represented as a putto, and numbers of anonymous putti were frequently depicted in attendance on various immortals.

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Season of promise, renewal

On a recent walk, Pooch and I visited with the ancients of the forest. We paid our respects to a once lumbering giant snapped in two by an unrelenting storm. I followed Pooch’s lead and climbed up into the dying treetop to sit and reflect on the season of promise and renewal.

An ethereal glint from the sun drew my eyes to the ancient’s splintered trunk and outstretched arms.

And to a face with a mouth drawn up like a bowl … as if the ancient was singing praises for its life renewed.

“It is not what you look at, but what you see.” – Henry Thoreau.

Renewal: Moss living on a decaying fence post.

Promise fulfilled: This lilac bush bloomed for the first time since it was planted years ago. Its fragrance reminds me of my grandmother’s sweet perfume.

 

This old crabapple promises an abundance of fruit in the fall to sustain the wildlife.

 

Redbud Forest: Blushing beauties as far as the eye can see.

The Redbud’s promise: “You might know this tree by other names. Some call it the Eastern Rosebud. Others call it the Canadian Rosebud,” says writer RGraf at hubpages.com. “But the most infamous name is the Judas-Tree. Tradition holds that it was the Redbud that Judas Iscariot in the Bible hung himself after betraying Jesus. The tree was so embarrassed by the part that it played in the story that it forever blushes and grows in a such a twisted manner that it could never be used like that again. Thus, we have the blushing tree known as the Redbud with its twisted and strange looking limbs.”