Head of a Cherub

This Head of a Cherub from around 1512 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston preserves a fragment of Correggio's early angelic painting. Such fragments, separated from larger compositions over the centuries, were prized by collectors as demonstrations of Correggio's unmatched ability to paint the softness of childhood. Antonio da Correggio, working in Parma in the early sixteenth century, was among the most original and influential Italian painters of the High Renaissance. His soft atmospheric modeling (learned from Leonardo), his dynamic compositions designed for ceiling decoration (anticipating the Baroque), and his warm, sensuous approach to both sacred and mythological subjects made him a decisive figure in the transmission of Italian Renaissance painting toward the Baroque. Vasari, who never visited Parma, may have underestimated his significance; later critics, beginning with Bellori, recognized him as one of the foundational figures of the entire European painting tradition after Raphael.

The cherub's head is rendered with Correggio's signature soft sfumato, the rounded features bathed in warm light. The technique creates an almost ethereal quality that distinguishes his angel painting from all other Italian artists.