Created 1496 | Subject Cupid Media Marble | |
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Periods Italian Renaissance, Renaissance Similar Michelangelo artwork, Marble, Renaissance artwork | ||
The Cupid was a sculpture created by Renaissance artist Michelangelo, which he artificially aged to make it look like an antique on the advice of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco. It was this sculpture which first brought him to the attention of patrons in Rome. The work is now lost.
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Sleeping Cupid
In 1496, Michelangelo made a sleeping cupid figure and treated it with acidic earth to make it seem ancient. He then sold it to a dealer, Baldassare del Milanese, who in turn sold it to Cardinal Riario of San Giorgio who later learned of the fraud and demanded his money back. However, Michelangelo was permitted to keep his share of the money. When Michelangelo offered to take the sculpture back from Baldassarre, the latter refused, saying he would rather destroy it.
The Cupid was a significant work in establishing the reputation of the young Michelangelo, who was about 20 years old at the time. The sculpture was later donated by Cesare Borgia to Isabella d'Este, and was probably collected by Charles I of England when all the Gonzaga collections were bought and taken to London in the seventeenth century.
In 1698, the Cupid was probably destroyed in the great fire in the Palace of Whitehall, London.
Standing Cupid
Another sculpture of Cupid, in a standing position, was created for Riario's banker, Jacopo Galli.
