Lot number 2449 - Auction 155
DIE ENTWAFFNUNG DES AMOR, 1841

CARL GOTTFRIED PFANNSCHMID 1818 Muhlhausen - 1887 Berlin The Disarming of Cupid, 1841 Oil on canvas, relined. 41.5 x 45 cm (f. 66 x 71 cm). Signed and dated lower right. Verso: number label "239". Restored. Frame (label: "Conzen Rahmen, Dusseldorf"). The work presents a romantic variation of the allegorical subject "The Disarming of Cupid", replacing the traditional Graces with a group of children. Conceived as a genre-like composition, the scene reflects the sentimental and lyrical sensibility characteristic of Romantic painting of the 19th century. The children symbolize innocence, purity, and naturalness. Cupid is not depicted asleep but appears awake and tense, as if reacting with surprise or unease to the unfolding scene. The composition is clearly structured and articulated in several spatial planes. The artist's painterly skill is particularly evident in the delicate rendering of flesh tones and the careful treatment of drapery, attesting to his academic training. Carl Gottfried Pfannschmidt was a prominent representative of academic historical and religious painting. In 1855 he was appointed a full member of the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin, received the title of Professor in 1860, and from 1865 taught composition and drapery. He gained recognition especially through his involvement in major monumental projects, including work at the Altes Museum and Neues Museum in Berlin, the Charlottenburg Mausoleum, the Schwerin Palace Church, as well as numerous altarpieces for churches throughout Germany. Provenance: Private collection.