Four Studies of a Nude Child 1715 - 1781

Joseph François Parrocel rendered these four studies of a nude child using pen and brown ink with a brown wash. We immediately recognize the putto, a cherubic figure, prominent since classical antiquity, often symbolizing innocence or divine love. Notice how these figures evoke the Eros of ancient Greece or the Cupid of Roman mythology. The cherub has consistently reappeared in Renaissance and Baroque art, often in religious scenes to suggest a heavenly atmosphere, or in secular works as emblems of love. One cherub is drinking, while another holds aloft a drapery; these gestures recall similar motifs in works by Raphael and Rubens. Through a process of 'Nachleben,' or the afterlife of images, we can trace how the cherub, originally a symbol of pagan love, was transmuted into a symbol of divine affection in the Christian era, and continues to charm and engage our collective memory. This potent imagery stirs deep emotional connections.