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Amor Victorious)
Amor Vincit Omnia, or the traditional English name Amor Victorious (although the literal translation is Amor Victorious Over All), is a baroque oil painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio created between 1602 and 1603 for Vincenzo Giustiniani . The painting, as suggested by the name, shows love (amor) victorious over the natural sciences (as represented by the compass, square, book and pen) and acquired virtues (as represented by the musical instrument, armour, scepter and laurel).
The figure, an adolescent male, shows confidence and assuredness in his freedom to do as he wills and does so with a gloating smile. He shows disregard for the physical world through his impunity. Further, his physical position above the representative objects strewn across the floor illustrates his superiority to that which they represent.
The Roman gods Mars and Venus parented Amor (Virgil Aeneid I. 664) and certain emphasised objects, the armour and instruments, may represent them rather than war and music, respectively.
It is said that the Marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani kept the painting behind a curtain to show only to friends.
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