Pointedly out of place with the rest of the painting is the appearance of a cherub hovering above Louisa. The presence of cherubim in paintings (most closely attributed to the works of Raphael) was used always in an angelic, celestial manner to bestow honor and blessing upon the main subject of the painting. Originally used in religious paintings, cherubim were later used in portraits depicting royalty. By the Victorian period (the end of the 19th century) cherub(s), more often than not, stood alone as the subject of a work of art. To own such art was to place a positive symbol in one's surrounding.
