Henry Elliott Johnston, Jr. as Cupid Stringing His Bow”

Media - 1906.9.16 - SAAM-1906.9.16_3 - 87925
Copied William Henry Rinehart, Henry Elliott Johnston, Jr. as "Cupid Stringing His Bow", 1874, marble, 42 1215 1413 38 in. (108.038.734.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Harriet Lane Johnston, 1906.9.16
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Henry Elliott Johnston, Jr. as Cupid Stringing His Bow”
Date
1874
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
42 1215 1413 38 in. (108.038.734.0 cm.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Harriet Lane Johnston
Mediums
Mediums Description
marble
Classifications
Keywords
  • Mythology — classical — Cupid
  • Figure male — nude
  • Figure male — full length
  • Portrait male — Johnston, Henry Elliott, Jr. — child
Object Number
1906.9.16

Artwork Description

In 1872, William Henry Rinehart visited Baltimore, where the Johnston family commissioned him to create four portraits, including marble busts of Henry Elliott Johnston and his wife, Harriet Lane Johnston, and full-length sculptures of their two children posing as Cupid. The statues of Henry Jr., age two, and James, age five, are identical except for the faces, and Rinehart only needed to make clay models of the boys’ heads before returning to his studio in Rome. This allowed him more time to sculpt the boys’ bodies from live models in his studio. Here, the young Henry appears unaware of his surroundings as he concentrates on stringing his bow. This creates a natural, unself-conscious sculpture that contrasts with the sentimental images of Cupid popular in Victorian society.