Study from a Statuette of a Cupid (Étude de l'Amour plâtre); Verso: Drapery Study

This large drawing depicts a small plaster cast of a cupid that Paul Cézanne kept in his studio. Although the cast appears in a number of watercolors and drawings, and four of his paintings, this is an independent graphic study and was not meant as a preparatory drawing for a particular work. Cézanne explored the contours of the cupid’s pudgy form using layered pencil strokes that convey the animation of its dynamic pose. On the other side of the sheet is a study of the kind of drapery that appears in his paintings of the cupid sculpture.