Cupid in a Medallion

ca. 1776–83
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Louis XVI presented this hanging and its pair, along with matching upholstery for seat furniture, to Prince Henry of Prussia (traveling incognito as the comte d’Oels) in 1784. Henry subsequently displayed the tapestries in the bedroom of his Berlin palace. Other notable recipients of tapestries from the same series (with designs based on the paintings of François Boucher) included Paul and Maria Feodorovna of Russia and Emperor Joseph II.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cupid in a Medallion
  • Manufactory: Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins (French, established 1662)
  • Workshop director: Workshop of Jacques Neilson (French, 1714–1788)
  • Designer: After designs by François Boucher (French, Paris 1703–1770 Paris) (Cupid)
  • Designer: and Maurice Jacques (French, 1712–1784) and
  • Designer: Louis Tessier (French, 1719/20–1781) (surround)
  • Date: ca. 1776–83
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Wool and silk
  • Dimensions: 12 ft. 1 11/16 in. × 91 5/16 in. (370 × 232 cm)
    12 ft. 1 1/4 in. × 92 1/2 in. (369 × 235 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Purchased with the support of the Stichting tot Bevordering van de Belangen van het Rijksmuseum (BK-1975-68)
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts