Sleeping Cupid

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Artist Paolo Farinati (Italian, 1524–1606)

Title Sleeping Cupid

Date Ca. 1560–1606

Medium Etching on paper

Dimensions Image: 5 7/16 x 7 11/16 in. (13.8 x 19.5 cm)
Sheet: 5 7/16 × 7 11/16 in. (13.8 × 19.5 cm)
Mount: 7 7/16 × 9 1/2 in. (18.9 × 24.1 cm)

Credit Line Collection of Diether Thimme, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 98.250

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About this Work

Cupid, the youngest of the gods, inspired Renaissance artists to develop a wide array of depictions, from the virile, young lover of Psyche to the mischievous child playing tricks on the hearts of gods and men. The popularity of the subject is evident in the works of Paolo Farinati, where almost half of the artist’s prints include the figure of Cupid, alone or with another deity. This angelic baby Cupid asleep with his emblematic bow and arrows nearby may actually carry a deeper, neo-Platonic meaning as an allegory of the conquest of rationality over a dormant state of passion, symbolized by Cupid.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Sleeping Cupid | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=98.250