Stone Cherub Head, 1750-1780

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Description

This delicate bust depicts a cherub with youthful features, his head tilted with an expression imbued with gentleness and melancholy. … Read more This delicate bust depicts a cherub with youthful features, his head tilted with an expression imbued with gentleness and melancholy. The round face, with its heavy eyelids and slightly parted mouth, is framed by softly rendered wavy hair. The partially visible wings confirm the angelic iconography common in 18th-century decorative and religious sculpture.

This type of sculpture was intended for the ornamentation of religious buildings, gardens, or aristocratic interiors. The expressive tilt of the head and the lifelike rendering of the features reflect the 18th-century taste for sensitive and graceful figures, straddling the line between late Baroque and Rococo. See less