Family of Satyrs with Dancing Cherubs

Family of Satyrs with Dancing Cherubs from c. 1775-76 is one of David's mythological subjects, depicting a family of satyrs with dancing cherubs in the elaborate watercolor and gouache technique that distinguishes his most accomplished works. The mythological subject combines David's Venetian decorative tradition with the classical mythology that provided subjects for 18th-century decorative painting, and the satyrs and cherubs allow the playful eroticism and decorative spectacle that characterize David's best work in the genre.

David's mythological watercolors are important in the history of 18th-century Italian decorative painting because they combine the Venetian tradition of decorative spectacle with the classical mythology that aristocratic patrons demanded for their palazzi. Family of Satyrs with Dancing Cherubs demonstrates David's elaborate watercolor technique in the service of a mythological subject, creating the playful eroticism and decorative spectacle that characterize the best 18th-century Italian decorative painting.

Family of Satyrs with Dancing Cherubs is David's mythological decorative spectacle at its most playful: satyrs and cherubs rendered in the elaborate watercolor and gouache technique that distinguishes the best 18th-century Italian decorative painting. The c. 1775-76 work combines Venetian decorative tradition with classical mythology.