User:Wynter1200/sandbox/Cupid (Michelangelo)

The Cupid was a sculpture created by Renaissance artist Michelangelo, which he artificially aged to make it look like an antique on the advice of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco. It was this sculpture which first brought him to the attention of patrons in Rome. The work is now lost.

Background
In 1496, Michelangelo made a sleeping cupid figure and treated it with acidic earth to make it seem ancient. He then sold it to a dealer, Baldassare del Milanese, who in turn sold it to Cardinal Riario of San Giorgio who later learned of the fraud and demanded his money back. However, Michelangelo was permitted to keep his share of the money. When Michelangelo offered to take the sculpture back from Baldassarre, the latter refused, saying he would rather destroy it.

***** (Between the years of 1495 and 1496 Michelangelo began working on one of his famous art works called Sleeping Cupid. The artwork itself was thought to be an antique because of it’s style and was bought by the “Cardinal Raffaello Riario in Rome”. Later when it was discorded the artwork was not an antique the Cardinal returned it to the seller and eventually Michelangelo discovered his work was being sold in Rome, where he later demanded the artwork be returned. The artwork was not returned, and the seller expressed his emotion toward the work, telling Michelangelo that he would rather it be destroyed then go back to him (Norton pg 251).

Sleeping Cupid of course has more story behind it, but Norton explains that the work was also a given to another individual by the name of Guidobaldo da Montefeltre (the Duke of Urbino). Montefeltre at the time had “one of the finest art collections in Italy”(Norton Pg 252). Years later the Duke sent the artwork to another court where it stayed for one Hundred years, but Norton suggests there is not enough evidence to prove that it stayed in one place. Norton explains that later the Sleeping Cupid was eventually put on to exhibit and told that when compared to the original antique “Sleeping Cupid”, Michelangelo’s was not nearly as fabulous as the original. In “The Art Bulletin” it is suggested that when Michelangelo gave the work to the individual he said “She must always show his Cupid first and the antique one afterwards, because in this order the greater merits of the ancient piece could be more easily observed” (Norton pg 252). Norton does explain that this story is incorrect because it does not show the typical characteristics of Michelangelo and his artwork but says that the story seems more legitimate because it’s something to tell the people. The story itself sounds more appealing because it romanticizes the artwork and most individuals do enjoy a great story.

Inspiration
The Cupid was a significant work in establishing the reputation of the young Michelangelo, who was 21 at the time.

The inspiration for Michelangelo’s cupid is unknown, but there is a theory about where his inspiration came from. Paul Norton suggests the artwork could have been inspired by his experience in in the Naples garden’s where he was exposed to cupids within the garden. It is possible the artwork was a way to experiment and express new forms of technique’s in regard to his artwork. In the article “The Michelangelo Phenomenon” it is suggested that artist that achieve their “ideal” goals within their artwork, they attempt new techniques in which they adapt over time. In the making of the statue, the article also suggests it is possible that because of the new skills he inquired Michelangelo used his partner or individual as inspiration. This may have inspired Michelangelo’s ideal form of individuals in sculpting and possibly himself as well.

This cupid later inspired another buyer to employee Michelangelo to create an artwork similar to the one he had made previously. This artwork was done in marble where Michelangelo used his new skills he learned in the summer of 1497, the same time he created the original sleeping cupid.

The lost

After returning the Rome the Cupid was placed in the market, where it ended up with Isabella d'Este in Mantua. Later the collection including the cupid was sold and bought by King Charles I of England, where it was destroyed on accident many years later due to a fire that destroyed a part of the palace it resided in.

The sculpture was later donated by Cesare Borgia to Isabella d'Este, and was probably collected by Charles I of England when all the Gonzaga collections were bought and taken to London in the seventeenth century.

In 1698, the Cupid was probably destroyed in the great fire in the Palace of Whitehall, London.

Similar Sculptures
Another sculpture of Cupid, in a standing position, was created for Riario's banker, Jacopo Galli.