Cupid as Link Boy

Reynolds painted Cupid as Link Boy around 1774, one of the most celebrated of his 'fancy pictures' and a work that exemplifies his characteristic wit in the application of classical mythology to contemporary urban reality. A link boy was a torch-bearing urchin who guided wealthy pedestrians through the dark streets of Georgian London — a common sight in a city without gas lighting — and Reynolds's conceit of casting this street figure as Cupid simultaneously democratizes the mythological tradition and gives an everyday subject the glamour of classical allusion. The painting's technical handling — the warm glow of the torch creating a chiaroscuro reminiscent of Correggio's nocturnal scenes — demonstrates Reynolds's ability to integrate Italian painterly lessons with entirely English subjects. The fancy pictures occupied a distinct category in Reynolds's production: less constrained by social requirements than formal portraiture, they gave him freedom to experiment with lighting, pose, and subject matter. The Buffalo AKG Art Museum's holding of this canvas reflects the broad American institutional collecting of Reynolds's work in all categories throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The child figure is rendered with warm palette and playful handling. Reynolds's treatment transforms the classical Cupid into a charming contemporary genre figure.