Cupido

Cupid, the mischievous god of love, appears in this painting from around 1751 at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires. The allegorical or mythological child figure was a standard subject in French Rococo painting, combining the charm of child portraiture with the narrative and decorative possibilities of classical mythology. Drouais"s Cupid may be based on a real child model posed with wings and classical attributes. Drouais was among the most successful portraitists of pre-Revolutionary France, working in the tradition of his father Hubert Drouais and studying under Carle van Loo, Natoire, and Boucher before establishing himself at court.

The child"s nude or semi-nude body is rendered with the careful anatomical observation and soft flesh painting that Drouais brought to his child subjects, with the Cupid disguise adding wings and perhaps a bow and arrows. The palette is warm and soft, with the flesh tones dominating the composition. The mythological attributes are rendered with enough precision to identify the subject while maintaining the overall impression of a real, charming child.