The Punishment of Cupid

Etienne-Maurice Falconet

Artist, French, 1716 - 1791

A nude woman stands and braces a child over her knee in this freestanding white marble sculpture. In this photograph, the woman’s body is angled to our right as she raises her right arm, which is closer to us. She grips a bouquet of flowers in that hand, her elbow bent. She has a delicate profile, and her wavy hair is pulled back and plaited under a ribbon and flowers. Leaning to our left against a trunk-like support, the woman grips the child’s back, holding his garment up over his nude backside. His arms splay wide, and he kicks one foot. The sculpture is on a fluted, round base with stepped molding at the bottom, and the background is pale gray.

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G13

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    marble

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 36.4 x 18 cm (14 5/16 x 7 1/16 in.)
    accessory size: 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.9.116

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, Paris, and New York); sold 1 January 1903 to Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania;[1] inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Provenance from Widener card file, in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1900

  • Guérinet, Armand. Matériaux et documents d'art decoratif: Oeuvres de Bronzes R. Wallace, arts decoratifs, etc. Paris, 1900: 140.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 8.

1948

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 133, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 154.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 137, repro.

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 82, repro.

1995

  • Hercz, Robert. "Bum Rap." Saturday Night 110 (1995): 20, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q63809359

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