Caravaggio’s Cupid

Victorious Cupid (1601-02) is a major loan from the Gelmäldergalerie in Berlin. It is the centrepiece of a focused exhibition, accompanied by two ancient Roman sculptures which, four centuries ago, were displayed in the same collection. Victorious Cupid will go on display for free at London’s Wallace Collection, from 26 November 2025 - 12 April 2025.

The painting and sculptures once belonged to the fabulously wealthy and erudite Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani (1564–1637) who, with his older brother Cardinal Benedetto Giustiniani, lived in a vast palazzo near the Pantheon in Rome. The Cupid hung in his ‘great room of ancient paintings’ with 13 other works by Caravaggio – one of them his celebrated Lute Player, another an Inspiration of St Matthew, with a disturbing, strangely erotic angel – and a splendid array of works by Raphael, Giorgione, Titian and Andrea del Sarto. 

Victorious Cupid is a shocking picture, whose provocative sexuality, and full frontal nudity, stops the viewer in their tracks. Lifesize and painted from nature, a 12-year-old Roman boy – a pair of arrows thrust into his hand – wears only a pair of eagle’s wings and a cheeky grin. The painting’s theme is ’Love conquers all’ and at his feet, in disarray, lie symbols of culture, learning and power – musical instruments, a crown and sceptre, pieces of armour, a compass and set square, a laurel wreath and pen – all brought low by the mischievous god of Love. Behind him appears the sliver of a celestial globe, suggesting his triumph over all the world. 

The Wallace exhibition creates a sense of walking through the Palazzo Giustiniani, with images of sculptures decorating the walls, and suggesting views through the window to the church of San Luigi dei Francesi, where Caravaggio’s Scenes from the Life of St Matthew had launched his brilliant career. 

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