The Triumph of Divine Love
Here Rubens depicts the "Love of God" as “Charity," a Virgin Mary-like figure whose milk can nourish all her children, which is again a reference to the Eucharist. Charity is depicted as she travels on a lion-drawn chariot surrounded by putti (child-angels). The Flemish master choose child-angels to symbolize aspects of sacred and profane love: some are shown flying and are thus heaven-bound while others stand on land and hold symbols of profane love such as intertwined snakes (symbols of sin and evil), a flaming heart and a bow, and the arrow of sacred love.
+© Courtesy of the The Ringling Museum of Art