Cupid and the Centaur

A little boy with wings rides a half-human horse. In ancient mythology, nothing is impossible. The god of love Cupid and the strange centaurs still belong to the well-known figures from there.

The centaurs were often described as wild and brutal. They liked to drink wine and assault women. The struggle between centaurs and other peoples, or even gods, is often depicted in Greek art as the struggle between the civilized and the wild. Even in the Parthenon temple in Athens, the centaurs are included as a disturbing element in the Greek world order.

It was about overcoming the dangerous centaurs and that is exactly what the little Cupid has done in the sculpture of the Academy of Fine Arts. With hands tied behind his back and a submissive posture, the muscular centaur submits to the divine child. The message becomes deeply philosophical: Love conquers all.

The sculpture came to Sweden in 1698 and has been at the Art Academy since 1780. It is cast after a sculpture that was long owned by the Borghese family in Rome. Over many years, these built up an impressive collection of both ancient and contemporary art. But in 1807 the centaur was sold to Emperor Napoleon who wanted it for his new central museum in the Louvre.

The both comical and strange contrast between the child and the fantasy animal made the sculpture very popular. It has been copied many times in smaller formats and different materials such as bronze, terracotta and porcelain, and in the present as a plastic souvenir.