Cupid
1744
Medium
marble
Dimensions
overall: 74.3 × 35.56 × 31.75 cm (29 1/4 × 14 × 12 1/2 in.) gross weight: 75 lb. (34.02 kg)
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1952.5.93
Art Historical Context
Edme Bouchardon's *Cupid* (1744), a delicate marble sculpture standing nearly 30 inches tall, captures the playful essence of the god of love in exquisite detail. Carved from a single block fine white marble, this work exemplifies the Rococo style that flourished in mid-18th-century France the reign of Louis XV. Bouch, a leading French sculptor trained in Rome, blended classical antiquity's grace with the era's lighthearted sensuality, rendering Cupid's youthful form with smooth, polished surfaces that evoke soft skin and dynamic movement. The sculpture's modest dimensions (74.3 × 35.56 × 31....
About the Artist
Edme Bouchardon · 1698–1762
Born 29 May 1698; died 27 July 1762. Bouchardon was a student of Guillaume Coustou, and won the prix de Rome in 1722. He spent ten years (1722-1732) in Rome, Italy working on various projects for Pope Clement XII. In 1732 Bouchardon was recalled to Paris and named sculptor to the king. Bouchardon became a professor at the Académie Royale in 1746. He worked on an equestrian monument of Louis XV, Ki...