Cupid and Doves 

Frederic Leighton created ‘Cupid and Doves’ with oil on canvas, using a muted palette dominated by gold and sepia tones, creating a dreamlike visual field. This design, originally intended to be placed as a lunette above a doorway, features a youthful Cupid carrying dead doves. The composition relies on a subtle interplay between classical forms and muted colours to convey a sense of melancholic beauty. The figure of Cupid is rendered with careful attention to anatomical detail, yet he appears strangely despondent, his wings casting shadows on the golden background. The doves, symbols of love and peace, are lifeless in his arms. Leighton here destabilizes conventional associations of love with vitality and joy, instead presenting us with a meditation on mortality. The artwork’s subdued colours and carefully arranged forms encourage contemplation, inviting us to consider the complex relationship between beauty and loss.