Cherub

Kodak’s late-18th-century slogan, “You press the button, we do the rest,” sounds reassuring. Even with today’s technology, however, it remains something of an overstatement.

I walked past this statue of a cherub riding a sea dragon many times before I made the photograph I had pictured in my mind : a dramatic sky, but with enough light remaining to reveal the details of the sculpture ; the jets of water extending the dragon’s movement and suggesting the life bursting from the whole composition.

Part of a larger group dedicated to the god of the sea, the cherub is easily overlooked. Most visitors glance at the central sculpture and move on. I wanted instead to draw attention to the childlike grace of this smaller figure, and to how surprisingly modern the sculpture must have seemed at the time. In the middle of the Baroque period, the artist bent its conventions to create something lighter, fresher and remarkably uncluttered.

Limited edition of 5 on Photo Rag Baryta 315g.

Delivered unframed.