Cupid overcoming Pan, (after Annibale Carracci, 1560–1609)
- Artist: David Teniers II
- Date: 1650-56
- Medium: oil on panel
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "Cupid overcoming Pan" (after Annibale Carracci, 1560–1609) by David Teniers II. Painted in 1650‑56, oil on panel, it is one of the 243 small copies Teniers produced for his Theatrum Pictorium. He worked directly from the original in Archduke Leopold Wilhelm’s collection, which held over 1,300 works spanning two centuries. The copy captures the lively pose of Cupid and the dynamic gesture of Pan, showing Teniers’ precise handling of light and line on a wooden panel. The painting is valuable because many of the originals have since been altered or lost; his copies provide a visual record of works that would otherwise be unseen. It also illustrates the 17th‑century fascination with the Italian Renaissance and the burgeoning interest in making art accessible through printed catalogues. The small scale and careful detail highlight Teniers’ skill and the era’s cultural ambition to preserve and celebrate mythological subjects.
See it in person
Cupid overcoming Pan, (after Annibale Carracci, 1560–1609) hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
