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Sleeping Cupid

Francois Duquesnoy (Il Fiammingo)

Basic information

ID: С-I-531
Author: Francois Duquesnoy (Il Fiammingo)
Name: Sleeping Cupid
Date of creation: 18th c.
Country: Italy
Technique: moulding
Material: bronze
Dimensions (height x width x depth, cm): 6.5 x 3.5 x 2

Additionally

Type: sculpture
Genre: mythological painting
Plot: Cupid
Provenance: Collection of Wladyslaw Lozinski in Lviv Collection of Lviv City Gallery

Information about author

Author: Francois Duquesnoy (Il Fiammingo)
Artist's lifetime: 1597–1643
Country: Italy
Biography: Francois Duquesnoy, known as Il Fiammingo (1597, Brussels – 1643, Livorno), was an outstanding Flemish sculptor of Walloon origin who created his major works in Rome, where he earned the nickname Il Fiammingo (The Flemish). His idealised sculptures represented a more calm and balanced version of Italian Baroque sculpture, contrasting with the dramatic and emotional character of Lorenzo Bernini's works, while Duquesnoy's style showed great affinity with the sculptures of Alessandro Algardi. Duquesnoy's major works include: the statue of Saint Susanna (1629) in the Church of Santa Maria di Loreto in Rome; the statue of Saint Andrew (1629–1635) in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City; a series of marble sculptures of putti (circa 1650), which were used by Peter Paul Rubens as models for his paintings. The most famous bronze sculptures are Mercury (Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna), Jupiter with the infant Bacchus (Bode-Museum, Berlin), and Antinous Belvedere (Bode-Museum, Berlin). In addition to these famous works, Duquesnoy created many other sculptures, reliefs, and tombstones that demonstrate his skill in conveying emotions and anatomical accuracy. Small bronze sculptures "the great Greek manner" (la gran maniera greca), commissioned by wealthy collectors, constantly occupied the sculptor and his assistants in the workshop. In the 18th–19th centuries, works based on Duquesnoy's models continued to be popular and were cast repeatedly.

Object description

One of the versions of the miniature sculpture "Sleeping Cupid" was created in the workshop of Duquesnoy. Most of the works preserved until today were made in marble in the 19th century based on the originals. A similar version in bronze was auctioned in Philadelphia in April 2024, where it was dated to the 18th century. On a rectangular bed covered with draperies, there is a naked sleeping boy with a round head and curly hair. His right hand is placed on his stomach, and his left hand, bent at the elbow, is under his head. The child's legs are plump; the left one is raised and bent at the knee.

Inscriptions

On the reverse side, on a cardboard backing at the top: on the left in black – "25" (crossed out in red); in the middle, a stamp with the inscription reads "G.N.m.L./25" (crossed out in red); on the right, a sticker with the inscription "25" (crossed out in red); below, the stamp reads "GAL. NAR. m. LWOWA." At the bottom left, in black, there is an inscription: "№ С-І-531/ Л.ОКГ"; in the middle in black: "G. N. M. L." (crossed out in red).

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Sleeping Cupid

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