Cupid and Minerva

Richard Cosway

1788 · Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite · Drawings and Prints

Demonstrating close study of classical and Renaissance sources, Cosway imagines an intimate moment in the life of the ancient gods, showing the warrior goddess Minerva teaching the boy Cupid how to aim his bow. An early biographer called it a "splendid work...powerfully drawn...the pose...admirable, the grouping remarkable...a particularly fine specimen of the master's firmest, sharpest work."

Artist

Richard Cosway

Date

1788

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1961