Eros and Anteros

Two muscular winged youths are shown in a close embrace and kiss, representing the twin deities of love and requited love. Each figure holds a large, flaming torch that billows thick clouds of smoke, symbolizing the heat and intensity of passion. The rugged, rocky background and the exaggerated musculature of the figures are hallmarks of the late 16th-century Haarlem Mannerist style.

This allegory illustrates the Neoplatonic concept of Anteros, or 'love returned,' which completes and balances the impulse of Eros. In the humanist tradition of Marsilio Ficino, this reciprocity was viewed as a necessary mirror for the soul to recognize divine beauty through the love of another.