Cupid cutting his bow from the club of Hercules at the Louvre, Paris

myminifactory

Cupid, depicted here as a youth, has stolen the arms of Mars and the club of Hercules. Boastful of having disarmed these two formidable deities, he sneers mischievously as he tests the spring of the bow he has carved from the club. Bouchardon displayed the terra-cotta model at the 1739 Salon; a marble was commissioned by Philibert Oudry, director of the King's Buildings, in 1740, but as Bouchardon was fully engaged with the Grenelle fountain, he did not begin work on it until 1745. The sculptor made numerous studies from life to give his figure a natural appearance and exhibited a plaster model at the 1746 Salon. He worked on the marble from July 1747 to May 1750, performing the sanding and polishing himself, tasks usually carried out by assistants. However, the substantial fee - 21,000 livres - he received for the sculpture more than compensated for this effort. This object is part of "Scan The World," a non-profit initiative launched by MyMiniFactory, which aims to create a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from around the world for public access at no cost. Scan the World is an open-source community project; if you have interesting items nearby and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can assist.