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Nymph and Cupid

Relief
first half of the 17th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This terracotta relief entitled 'Venus and Cupid' - formerly ascribed to Cellini - is made by an unknown artist in Florence in the first half of the 17th century. The system of modelling would also recall the work of Giovanni Francesco Susini.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Reliefs
Object type
Relief
Titles
  • Nymph and Cupid (generic title)
  • Venus and Cupid (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Relief in terracotta
Terracotta
Relief
Brief description
Relief, terracotta, 'Venus and Cupid', by an unknown artist, Florence, first half of 17th century
Physical description
This relief in terracotta shows the Venus represented sleeping on a cloak or piece of drapery spread on a bank. Her head is shown in profile to the right and rests on her folded left arm. Behind, to the left, a samll figure of Cupid armed with a quiver stands on ahigher level in front of a clump of trees, holding up one end of the drapery.
Dimensions
  • Height: 32.1cm
  • Width: 49.5cm
Object history
Purchased from the Gigli-Campana Collection, £10. Previously in the collection of the sculptor Emilio Santarelli.
Production
Formerly ascribed to Cellini.
Subjects depicted
Drapery
Trees
Venus
Cupid
Summary
This terracotta relief entitled 'Venus and Cupid' - formerly ascribed to Cellini - is made by an unknown artist in Florence in the first half of the 17th century. The system of modelling would also recall the work of Giovanni Francesco Susini.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 29
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, pp. 137, 38
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text. Sixteenth to Twentieth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 576, 577.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
7608-1861

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O312699/nymph-and-cupid-relief-unknown/
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