Cupid Astride an Eagle
n.d.
Medium
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk, on buff laid paper, laid down on cream laid paper
Dimensions
12.4 × 10.4 cm (4 15/16 × 4 1/8 in.)
Classification
ink with wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
49312
Art Historical Context
Behold the whimsical *Cupid Astride an Eagle*, a delicate drawing by Giulio Romano (c. 1499–1546), one of the Renaissance's most inventive Mannerist artists. A favored pupil of Raphael, Romano blended classical mythology with dynamic, elegant forms, influencing generations from Rome to Mantua. Created in pen and brown ink with brush and brown wash over faint black chalk traces, this undated study on buff laid paper (12.4 × 10.4 cm) captures Cupid's playful perch on a soaring eagle—a nod to ancient tales of love's triumphant flight, infused with Romano's characteristic grace and subtle eroticis...
About the Artist
Giulio Romano · 1499–1546
Giulio Romano (c. 1499–1546) was the most gifted pupil of Raphael and one of the founding figures of Mannerism, the style that succeeded the High Renaissance in Italy. Born Giulio Pippi in Rome, he entered Raphael's workshop as a boy and proved so talented that by the time of Raphael's death in 1520 he was effectively running the studio and overseeing the completion of major unfinished commissions...