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Cupids at Play
Luca Giordano·c. 1670
Historical Context
Cupids at Play in Glasgow depicts a group of playful putti, the ubiquitous winged infants of Baroque decorative painting. Such groups of tumbling cupids were standard elements in ceiling paintings and decorative panels, and Giordano produced them with characteristic fluency. Oil on canvas suited Giordano's rapid working method: he typically laid in compositions with fluid, transparent washes then built form with loaded brushwork, completing large canvases in days. His stylistic eclecticism — ...
Technical Analysis
The airborne putti create a dynamic, swirling composition of intertwined infant bodies. Giordano's facility with flesh tones and anatomical foreshortening is evident in the varied poses.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the dynamic, swirling composition of intertwined infant bodies: Giordano creates a composition of pure movement and sensuous roundness from the tumbling putti.
- ◆Look at the foreshortening of the airborne figures: Giordano's facility with figures seen from below or in flight — essential for ceiling painting — is demonstrated in these cupid groups.
- ◆Find the variety of poses: each putto is positioned differently, creating visual rhythm through a composition that is at once dynamic and perfectly decorative.
- ◆Observe that Glasgow's collection holds this alongside other Giordano works — putto groups like this were produced for decorative purposes and reflect Giordano's enormous commercial output alongside his more ambitious devotional and mythological subjects.
