Cupid Presenting a Rose to a Butterfly
by CHAUDET, Antoine-Denis, Marble, height 77 cm
Chaudet’s classicism is essentially decorative and delicate. It is no accident that the Cupid should be one of his best known sculptures, and its base is no less typical of his style, even if its execution is not entirely his, with its playful, graceful frieze showing on one side amoretti who have fired their arrows at a beehive and are alarmed at the result.
The sculpture was finished by Pierre Cartellier and presented at the Salon of 1817.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 4 minutes):
Francesco Gasparini: The Meddlesome Cupid, aria