Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Playing Cherubs and Cupids
Second half of the 18th century
School of Francois Boucher (Paris, 1703 - 1770)
Oil on panel “en camaieu” (monochrome) in purple 49 x 38 cm with frame 56 x 45 cm.
The painting we are presenting, depicting a playful group of cherubs and cupids, is rendered in the particular decorative technique called “en camaieu” (literally monochrome), achieved using different shades of the same colour, in this case purple. It is a work of great elegance and chromatic charm, created in the light and frivolous spirit of French Rococo.
The painting is based on the compositional models of the French painter François Boucher (Paris, 1703 - 1770), an artist much appreciated at the court of Louis XV and known for his scenes inspired by mythology, often reinterpreted in a sensual and decorative key.
Boucher used this technique on numerous occasions, for example in the decorations of the Cabinet du Prince in the library of the Hôtel de Soubise in Paris, where two monochrome blue paintings depicting small cherubs as allegories of Hunting and Fishing are set in the upper corners of the hall (see photo in detail).
The subject is expressed in a triumph of the canons of the Rococo period, the most delicate, light and at the same time elegant of styles, capable of interpreting in painting the peculiarities of French society under the Ancien Régime: the composition, with cherubs arranged on clouds and surrounded by flowers, is characteristic of Rococo aesthetics, which favours light, decorative and often sensual scenes.
Francois Boucher and his workshop devoted much of their activity to this type of subject, the symbol par excellence of the frivolous pleasures of life to which the aristocratic class aspired, thanks to the great fame of the master and the copious requests from collectors.
Our work, which can be dated to the second half of the 18th century, can be attributed to a pupil or follower active shortly after the French painter.
Often these works were not canvases to be exhibited, but part of a larger decorative project, designed to blend harmoniously with the furnishings of a Rococo setting, presumably a series of works placed in the boiserie or as a mantelpiece.
Delevery information :
We take care of and organise the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.
We take great care We personally take care of the packaging, to which we devote a great deal of care: each work is carefully packed, first with arti- cle material, then with a custom-made wooden box.
Should you have the desire to see this or other works in person, we would be happy to welcome you to our gallery in Riva del Garda, Viale Giuseppe Canella 18, we are always open by appointment only.
