Focus on this artwork and discuss the abstract.
Divine Love Conquering Earthly Love is an oil on canvas painting dating to 1602–1603, that is now held in the collection of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini, Rome. It was painted by Italian painter Giovanni Baglione. It is the second version that Baglione painted of this subject; the first version is now in the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen in Berlin. Both of these versions were painted for Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani, an Italian clergyman.The painting was done as a reference and competitive response to Caravaggio’s piece Love Victorious, with its debated symbolism of the figures and imagery. This resulted in a rivalry between Baglione and his contemporary, Caravaggio; Baglione accused Caravaggio of circulating poems that were disparaging the painting, which in 1603, resulted into a libel lawsuit.
Berlin Rome Caravaggio Benedetto Giustiniani Love Victorious Gemäldegalerie Giovanni Baglione Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica Palazzo Barberini