Cupids - Allegory of Poetry by François Boucher

The games of love and musical arts mingle exquisitely in court art during the middle of the eighteenth century. The famous Rococo master François Boucher composes here an adorable celestial scene under the provisional title “Cupids - Allegory of Poetry”. This decorative painting illustrates charming cherubs learning writing and harmony above earthly matters. The work stands as a poetic celebration of artistic creation guided by divine innocence.

Three plump putti busily play in the middle of an azure sky dotted with fluffy clouds. The central cherub, draped in an orange-red silk veil, holds a bird quill to write on a large open book of sheet music. By his side, three white doves flutter around him, one of them seeming to peck at the music pages. In the upper left, a second cupid flies while holding a laurel wreath and a golden arrow. In the foreground below, a third infant lying on his stomach holds a long gilded bronze trumpet. The brilliant light highlights the rosy freshness of their childlike skin and the liveliness of their expressions. The circular composition guides the eye through the various symbols of the arts represented.

François Boucher deploys all his craftsmanship in the delicacy of the children’s faces and the harmony of colors. His subtle use of oil paint allows for silky textures and a striking realism of the bird feathers. It is a brilliant testament to his virtuosity in the allegorical decorative genre.