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The sculpture depicts a cherub, a young winged child with curly hair, shown in a seated position. The cherub leans against a column with a quiver of arrows next to them and is surrounded by a landscape with a small tree and foliage. The bronze-like sculpture has a warm, golden-brown hue with subtle highlights. The cherub's relaxed posture and gentle expression are carved in low relief on a circular medallion, which seems designed for hanging, with a small hole at the top.
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The sculpture depicts a cherub, a young winged child with curly hair, shown in a seated position. The cherub leans against a column with a quiver of arrows next to them and is surrounded by a landscape with a small tree and foliage. The bronze-like sculpture has a warm, golden-brown hue with subtle highlights. The cherub's relaxed posture and gentle expression are carved in low relief on a circular medallion, which seems designed for hanging, with a small hole at the top.

National Gallery of Art · Sculpture

A Sleeping Cupid

Pseudo Antonio da Brescia

Date
early 16th century
Medium
bronze//Medium brown patina (rubbed)
Dimensions
overall (diameter): 6.7 cm (2 5/8 in.)
Classification
Sculpture · Plaquette
Accession number
1957.14.241
Credit line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Time span
1401 to 1500
Department
CSD
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • Venetian
  • classical
  • mythology
  • Sleeping
  • Renaissance
  • Renaissance Plaquettes
  • Cupid
Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his estate; purchased 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 1945 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1957 to NGA.

NGA object ID 43963. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.