Etienne-Maurice Falconet

French, 1716 - 1791

Explore Selected Works

A young, nude, winged child sits with one finger raised to his lips as he looks out from under his eyebrows and smiles in this freestanding bronze sculpture. In this photograph, the child’s body faces us as he tips his head down and slightly to the right. He has short, wavy hair and delicate features. His shoulders lean to our left, and his knees are close together. He leans onto his right hip, also to our left, and rests his other hand down by his side to touch the feathered ends of arrows in a quiver there. He sits on a smooth rock in front of the quiver, and a gilded rose and ribbon lie near his feet.
Etienne-Maurice Falconet, The Menacing Cupid, model 1755/1757, cast before 1874, bronze with gilding, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2014.136.244

The Menacing Cupid

Etienne-Maurice Falconet · model 1755/1757, cast before 1874 · bronze with gilding ·  Accession ID  2014.136.244

Etienne-Maurice Falconet, Venus Nursing Cupid, c. 1759, terracotta, Gift of David H. McDonnell, 2018.20.5

Venus Nursing Cupid

Etienne-Maurice Falconet · c. 1759 · terracotta ·  Accession ID  2018.20.5

A seated woman with upswept hair is flanked by two chubby male children in this free-standing, white marble sculpture. In this photograph of the sculpture, the woman’s body faces us, and the rectangular base on which they sit is angled slightly away from us to our left. The woman sits in half of an oversized, upturned clam shell with her legs angled to our right. Her near leg is outstretched while the other bends at the knee. Her toga-like garment leaves her near breast exposed and wraps around her back to cover her lower torso and lap. She looks down to the winged boy closest to us, to our left, who half-stands and half-kneels at her side. He holds her hand and kisses the back of it, as he turns his face toward us. Two doves near the boy nestle in the drapery on which the woman sits, their beaks interlocked. On the woman’s other side, to our right, the second boy sits in the shell by her feet. He leans back to look up at her with his mouth open, as he grabs her garment with one hand. Two sea creatures with gaping mouths support the undulating curves of the shell.
Etienne-Maurice Falconet, Venus of the Doves, marble, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1952.5.101

Venus of the Doves

Etienne-Maurice Falconet · · marble ·  Accession ID  1952.5.101

A nude woman stands and braces a child over her knee in this freestanding white marble sculpture. In this photograph, the woman’s body is angled to our right as she raises her right arm, which is closer to us. She grips a bouquet of flowers in that hand, her elbow bent. She has a delicate profile, and her wavy hair is pulled back and plaited under a ribbon and flowers. Leaning to our left against a trunk-like support, the woman grips the child’s back, holding his garment up over his nude backside. His arms splay wide, and he kicks one foot. The sculpture is on a fluted, round base with stepped molding at the bottom, and the background is pale gray.
Etienne-Maurice Falconet, The Punishment of Cupid, marble, Widener Collection, 1942.9.116

The Punishment of Cupid

Etienne-Maurice Falconet · · marble ·  Accession ID  1942.9.116

Venus and Cupid, model c. 1770s, carved early 19th century, marble, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2014.136.245

Venus and Cupid

· model c. 1770s, carved early 19th century · marble ·  Accession ID  2014.136.245

French 18th Century, Bather or Nymph at the Bath, model 1757, carved mid-to-late 18th century, marble statuette, Gift of David H. McDonnell, 2022.107.1

Bather or Nymph at the Bath

French 18th Century · model 1757, carved mid-to-late 18th century · marble statuette ·  Accession ID  2022.107.1