Cupid (Amor) (c. 1630): Art, History and Details

Cupid (Amor) (c. 1630) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Johann Liss (German, c. 1597–1631).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Johann Liss studied in Holland and Antwerp, and later (about 1620) traveled to Rome and Venice. His painting of Cupid—also known as Amor, the god of love—displays rich colors and fluid brushwork that were influenced by past Venetian masters (Titian, Tintoretto, or Veronese), while the deep contrasts of light and shadow reveal a stylistic debt to Caravaggio. The directness of Cupid’s gaze and the concentrated energy of his pose create a strong connection with the viewer.

Object facts

• Title: Cupid (Amor)
• Date: c. 1630
• Creator attribution: Johann Liss (German, c. 1597–1631)
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: Framed: 108 x 86 x 6.5 cm (42 1/2 x 33 7/8 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 87.7 x 65.7 cm (34 1/2 x 25 7/8 in.)
• Collection: P - German before 1800
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1971.100

A detail from the museum

Liss skillfully combined Dutch, Flemish, and Italian styles to create his own distinct manner.

Collection credit

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Hilaire, Michel, Axel Hémery, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Musée Fabre, and Musée des Augustins. Corps et Ombres : Caravage et Le Caravagisme Européen. Milan, Montpellier, Toulouse: 5 continents ; Musée Fabre ; Musèe des Augustins, 2012.
• Morassi, Antonio. Mostra della pittura del seicento e settecento in Liguria. Milano: Alfieri, 1947: 145.
• Pietro Zampetti. La Pittura Del Seicento a Venezia; Catalogo Della Mostra. Venezia, Ca’ Pesaro, 27 Giugno-25 Ottobre 1959. 2. ed. definitiva. Venezia: Edizioni Alfieri, 1959.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.