Full Record |
| Title |
Cupid and a Lady |
| Collection |
Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle |
| Artist |
French School |
| Date Earliest |
probably about 1675 |
| Date Latest |
probably about 1700 |
| Description |
This painting appears to be a mythologising portrait. These were rather fashionable in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, when people liked to be represented in the guise of mythological characters. Mythologising portraits allowed to glorify the sitter by giving him/her ideal physical qualities, or at least placed the sitter under a particular god/goddess's benevolent attention. The lady represented here with a Cupid figure and sheet music may be in the guise of Euterpe, the Greek muse of music. The lady's hairstyle suggests she was painted about 1675-1700. |
| Current Accession Number |
O.226 |
| Former Accession Number |
Douz.403 |
| Subject |
portrait; mythology (Cupid) |
| Measurements |
68.5 x 91.8 cm cm (estimate) |
| Material |
oil on canvas |
| Acquisition Details |
Bequeathed by the founders John and Joséphine Bowes 1885. |
| Rights Owner |
The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham |
| Author |
Dr Maylis Hopewell-Curie |
