Cupid

The young Cupid on this sheet is realized with the technique of trois crayons, a combination of black, red and white chalk. Alastair Laing has suggested that the drawing could be the product of collaboration between Boucher and a studio assistant. It was typical of Boucher to collaborate with his studio to produce versions of his original drawings in different media. A print of this subject was published by Gilles Demarteau in the Principes du dessein dans le goût du Crayon in 1740 (see P. Jean-Richard, L’Œuvre gravé de François Boucher dans la Collection Edmond de Rothschild, I, Paris, 1978, no. 857, ill.).

We are grateful to Alastair Laing for his assistance in cataloguing this work.