Cherubs Playing with a Swan

Jean-Baptiste Tuby I

National Gallery of Art

Two chubby, winged children hold onto a swan with its wings thrust back, beak open, and long neck curving up in this freestanding sculpture, which was originally a fountain cast in iron. The cherubs and swan are on a bunched-up cloth on a disk fluted like a seashell. In this photograph, the swan’s body is angled to our right. One cherub stands behind the swan to our left, and the other lies on his back with one hand and foot lifted, facing the swan. Both cherubs have caps of curly hair and short wings. Each has a strap across their chest, and a quiver with arrows lies next to the prone cherub. The sculpture rests on a pale peach-colored stone pedestal carved with a band of layered leaves around the middle. The base stands in a shallow basin of water. The fountain is photographed in a bright space with white marble columns and floors.