Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Karen S. W. and Edward A. Friedman, Yale BA 1971, Kristin W. and Gary D. Friedman, Yale BA 1973, Ruth and Theodore N. Mirvis, and Darcy Bradbury and Eric Seiler
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B2013.27
Gallery Label:
The subject is drawn from the opening lines of a sixteenthcentury pastoral drama, Aminta, by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso. Cupid, the god of love, is disguised in the clothes of a shepherd. His bow is partly concealed by his side, and only the tips of his wings are visible beneath his cloak. Interest in Tasso’s work and tragic life was revived in the early nineteenth century by the romantic poets. Beginning in around 1830, Gibson produced nine versions of this statue for patrons in America, Britain, and other parts of Europe, indicating its international appeal. This version was commissioned in 1834 by a future British prime minister, Robert Peel, when he visited Gibson’s studio in Rome during a tour of Italy. Gallery label for A Decade of Gifts and Acquisitions (Yale Center for British Art, 2017-06-01 - 2017-08-13)
