Twee putti die een bol dragen 1512 - 1610

This engraving at the Rijksmuseum shows two putti struggling to carry a sphere, a common motif across art history. The orb, often symbolizing the world or celestial power, appears as early as antiquity. We see it in the hands of emperors, signifying dominion, and later in Christian iconography, where Christ holds the orb as Salvator Mundi. The putti, or cherubic figures, derive from classical antiquity. They represent love, innocence, and divine presence. Here, their struggle to hold the sphere introduces an element of human effort to the divine. Think of the Titan Atlas, eternally bearing the weight of the heavens. This echoes the psychological burden we all carry through life, as we strive to make sense of the world. The symbol's journey—from imperial power to religious salvation, and now, perhaps, a reflection of our own existential burdens—reveals how images evolve, accumulating layers of meaning as they traverse time.