Caravaggio’s Cupid

Brilliant and subtle exhibition at the Wallace Collection presenting Caravaggio's "Victorious Cupid”.

The painting, from 1602 is on loan from the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, is placed within the context for which is was painted. The introductory room introduces you to Rome at the time and the artist and patron.

If you then turn right you enter a subtle recreation of the patron, Vincenzo Guistiniani's gallery of classical sculpture.  At the centre is an Aphrodite from Guistiniani's collection with an invocation of the view from the window of his palace at the far ending showing the church for which Caravaggio had painted his St Matthew paintings. Around the edge are reproductions of engravings of classical subjects. The blurb fails to mention that these were all in the collection and the engravings all come from a catalogue of the collection which I learnt from the lecture I'd done on the painting a few days before.

The painting itself is shown in the room to the left in a minimal dark room. There were excellent commentaries, but they were concealed in the two alcoves at the side of the room so they didn't deflect from the image. It was shown with another statue from the collection, an Apollo shown to one side so it could be viewed with the painting without detracting from it. The room also has a 19th century sculpture of cupid from the gallery's own collection which I felt was unnecessary.

Anyway, to the picture itself. It dominated the room and pulled your attention. The lecture I've mentioned partly concluded we should try to look at it with a Renaissance eye not a modern one but I'm sorry in any era this is a naughty boy. He dominates a wonderful still life which implies love will triumph over the arts, war and power and he is presented as a real cupid, not a boy in fancy dress, however he is undeniably provocative.

Closes 12 April 2026

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