CA0471 Bronze 'L'Amour au Papillon' after Chaudet

A stunning late 19th century Napoleon III period patinated bronze figure L’Amour au Papillon after Antoine-Denis Chaudet (1763-1810). The finely cast bronze depiction of a kneeling Cupid holding the wings of a butterfly represents Cupid capturing Psyche. Presented on an oval bronze ground and a later Rouge Royal marble block base. L’Amour was first presented as a plaster model at the Salon of 1802, to great acclaim. Unfortunately, the artist did not live to see it realised in marble by his friend Pierre Cartellier (French, 1757-1831) in the salon in 1817. Louis XVIII acquired L’Amour for the state and exhibited it at Versailles, where it resided until it was transferred to the Louvre, Paris. French, circa 1870.

H 25.75cm x W 21cm x D 12cm