Boy as Cupid

Joseph Chinard

ca. 1802–4 · Plaster, painted to resemble terracotta · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Chinard, who often invested his portraits with mythological overtones, here alludes to the myth of Cupid and Psyche; the boy's bow and arrow associate him with Cupid, and at the base his arrow pierces a butterfly, the attribute of Psyche.

Artist

Joseph Chinard

Date

ca. 1802–4

Medium

Plaster, painted to resemble terracotta

Culture

French, Lyons

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, Bequest of Mary S. Shattuck and Gift of Rev. A.D. Pell, by exchange, and Rogers Fund, 1976