# Cupid Begging

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/epinay-prosper-d-r4f0d52c8dcf498/cupid-begging-r723ae1107446fa>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [EPINAY, Prosper d&#39;](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/epinay-prosper-d-r4f0d52c8dcf498>)
- Date: 1851-1900
- Technique: Marble, height 103 cm

## Commentary

EPINAY, Prosper d&#39; \(b. 1836, Pamplemousses, Mauritius, d. 1914, Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire\) Cupid Begging 1887 Marble, height 103 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg The almost complete subordination of sculpture to functions of interior decoration and the far greater kudos given to technical mastery in this field compared to painting did not encourage innovative experimentation. This Cupid pretending to be a beggar once stood in a drawing room of the Anichkov Palace, Alexander III&#39;s residence in St. Petersburg. With its superbly executed thin mantle, it is a typical work that invested Belle Époque apartments with an air of unrestrained and somewhat philistine splendour. &lt;p&gt; &lt;table align=left cellpadding=5 border=1 width=320 bgcolor=&#34;\#99cccc&#34;&gt; &lt;tr valign=middle&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img srC=&#34;/support/gif/listen.gif&#34; border=0 valign=middle&gt; Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 4 minutes\):&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;\#&#34; onClick=&#34;w=window.open \(&#39;/music1/17\_cent/gasparini\_cupid.html&#39;, &#39;newWin&#39;, &#39;scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350&#39;\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true&#34;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Francesco Gasparini: The Meddlesome Cupid, aria&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;

## Related artworks

- [Bacchante](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/epinay-prosper-d-r4f0d52c8dcf498/bacchante-rb3a1650565642b>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)