Venus Bedecking Cupid with a Garland of Roses

The imitation and reproduction of works of master sculptors was a common practice in 18th-century France. Falconet was one of the most renowned sculptors of the time, and his designs were used for the reproduction of small-scale marbles, like these sculptures of Venus and Cupid, both during his lifetime and over the next two centuries. Such replication responded to the demand from collectors for more decorative, mildly erotic figures and groups to place in domestic interiors.