ARTE: Emotions in 17th -century art (Art Gallery of NSW; 9-31 of May)
Learn how art communicates emotion in this four-part lecture series led by Dr Lisa Beaven.  

To communicate their desired emotion to the viewer, 17th-century artists had to overcome the unique challenge of translating emotions into facial expres-sions and body lan-
guage for accurate representation in their paintings. To do this successfully relied on the skills of the artist, but also on what the viewer brought to the en- counter and their ability to recog-nise the emotions they were seeing. Delve into how horror, fear, humour and love are represented in iconic works by Caravaggio, Nicholaes Maes, Nicholas Poussin and Peter Paul Rubens. Discover the reasons for the creation of each work – who commis-sioned them, where they were hung, and why they sought to provoke a strong emotional response in the viewer.  

Dr Lisa Beaven is an adjunct senior research fellow at La Trobe University, whose specialties include material cul-ture in Rome in the 17th century. Each lecture will be held on Friday and re-peated on Saturday in the Domain Theatre. Each session includes a 15-minute intermission, during which tea and coffee will be provided in the Domain Theatre foyer.
The above is a copy and paste form the Art Gallery of NSW's site describing the lecture series which does sound truly truly truly interesting. One of the four lectures, which will be delivered on the 30th of May, and repeated on the 31st, is dedicated to Caravaggio's Amor vincit omnia. Here is what the Gallery says regarding the lecture:
Using Caravaggio’s painting Amor vincit omnia 1601–02 as a case study, this lecture will delve into the destructive and conquering power of love. Amor vincit omnia, which translates to ‘love conquers all’, is personified in the figure of Cupid, the subject of this work. This ancient phrase was not always a positive one, and there are many examples in literature and visual culture of lovers driven together by forces beyond their control – with love as a devouring force. Love madness, love frenzy and love melancholia are all common aspects of early modern love. Cara-vaggio’s Cupid is defiant, smiling directly at the viewer, and strewn below are objects relating to music, learning and knowledge. The mes-sage is clear – in the face of all-con-quering love, no amount of scho-larship can save you.
You'll find all the dates, times and cost of the lectures here. You'll find the actual painting itself, Amor vincit omnia or Cupid as Victor  (and a host of other titles), at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin.
It is a truly lovely painting but, when you admire it, it can make you feel slightly uncomfortable:
The Gemäldegalerie houses a wonder-ful collection of paintings, including some by Sandro Botticelli. Apart from the famous Birth of Venus (Nascita di Venere)  housed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Botticelli painted several other Venuses, three of which have survived to this day: one, housed in Turin, in the Galleria Sabauda; a second, in private hands, and a third one, located at the Gemäldegalerie, in Berlin    
Oltre alla celebre “Nascita di Venere (conservata agli Uffizi di Firenze), il Maestro ne realizzò (of them he created = passato remoto)  altre, di cui solo tre giunte fino a noi (have reach-ed us) : la Venere “di Torino”, la sorella conservata presso la Gamäldegalerie di Berlino (entrambe realizzate nel 1490) e una terza che fa parte di una collezione privata svizzera. (Mole24.it).
Ecco in basso qualche foto della Venere "di Berlino":
E, a pochi metri di distanza, un'altra meravigliosa Venere, la Venere e Amore, di Lucas Cranach:
Ecco un quadro meraviglioso invece, sempre esposto al Gemäldegalerie di Berlino, di un pittore italiano, forse sconosciuto ai più, ma ben noto agli appassionati di Vermeer: Felice Ficherelli.
Il motivo per cui Ficherelli è noto agli appassionati di Vermeer è perché la Santa Praxedis del pittore olandese riprende / è basato su / è una copia di / è una reinterpretazione della Santa Praxedis di Ficarelli (1640-1645):
Ed ecco in basso la versione di Vermeer:
Ma non tutti gli studiosi di Vermeer sono convinti che l'opera sia effettiva-mente del pittore di Delft come ci spiega essentialvermeer.com. 
But, of course, the main reason why one must absolutely visit the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin is to view The Adoration of the Kings (also known as the Monforte Altarpiece) by Hugo van der Goes, che non c'entra quasi niente con l'Italia ma è di una bellezza universale e senza tempo: 
Dicevamo che l'Adorazione dei Magi  di Hugo van der Goes non c'entra quasi niente con l'Italia se non fosse che agli Uffizi si conserva un'altro dei grandi capolavori di Hugo Van Der Goes, il Trittico Portinari :