Artwork
Garlanding the Statuette of Cupid
Garlanding the Statuette of Cupid is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Louis-Léopold Boilly. It dates from 1810 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Together they convey an allegorical narrative of courtship and marital promise, reflecting early‑19th‑century French mythological sensibilities.
The painting shows a cherubic Cupid being presented with a floral garland by a seated woman, while a small figurine of a statue and assorted objects, a hat, footstool, bouquet, and suitcase, populate the surrounding space. These details function as symbolic attributes: the garland signifies unity and celebration, the woman may embody Venus or an allegorical figure of love, and the assorted items hint at domestic harmony and the fleeting nature of affection. Together they convey an allegorical narrative of courtship and marital promise, reflecting early‑19th‑century French mythological sensibilities.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring 550 mm in height by 455 mm in width and dated to 1810. It is housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst. The composition depicts Cupid alongside a woman seated in a chair with a hat, a footstool, a statue, a figurine, a flower bouquet and a suitcase, illustrating a mythological scene.
The painting’s formal qualities include a delicate rendering of texture through oil paint and a balanced arrangement of symbolic objects that emphasize narrative clarity. Handling details are not provided in the available documentation.
History & Provenance
The work titled Garlanding the Statuette of Cupid was painted in 1810 by Louis‑Léopold Boilly. Executed in oil on canvas, the piece measures 550 × 455 mm and depicts a mythological scene with Cupid, a woman, a chair, a hat, a footstool, a statue, a figurine, flowers, a bouquet, and a suitcase. It entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on display.
The painting’s creation history is documented as originating in 1810, and its material composition includes oil paint applied to canvas, consistent with Boilly’s technique of the period.
Overview
Louis-Léopold Boilly's oil painting, Garlanding the Statuette of Cupid, completed in 1810, captures a quiet domestic scene. This work, executed in oil paint, presents an intimate moment involving three figures. The painting is currently part of the collection at the Statens Museum for Kunst.
Artist & collection
Artist
Louis-Léopold Boilly was a French painter and draftsman. A creator of popular portrait paintings, he also produced a vast number of genre paintings documenting French middle-class social life. His life and work spanned…
- Love Crowned
The Present
Family in an Interior
Bildnis einer Dame mit Knaben
The Reader
The Capricious Child (L’enfant capricieux)
Recovering
The portrait of princess Ekaterina Nikolaevna Menshikova
Visit to the child at nurse
A young Woman mocking an elderly Admirer
The Artist Painting a Lady's Portrait
The Empress Marie-Louise watching over the sleep of the King of Rome