Description
Cupid Asleep with Shakespeare Quote, Square Card — “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” A sleeping cupid with bow and arrow in hand is known as Cupid Asleep. Where did Cupid come from? Why does valentine’s day remind us of Cupid? Cupid has long played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. He is a mischievous, winged child, whose arrows who would pierce the hearts of his victims causing them to fall deeply in love.
This is a colorized version of an 1897 “Cupid Asleep” photograph by M.B. Parkinson, . It depicts a little curly-headed girl, sleeping, holding a bow and arrow. On the bow is the artist’s name, date, and title. The two works, “Cupid Awake” and “Cupid Asleep” were so popular in the 1920’s that, in one form or another, they hung in more than one fourth of US households.
I inherited my copies of the two Cupid photos from my mother. The pair were among her cherished pieces. They hung in an antique double frame over her bed. Printing on the back mentions “Prang”. This is a photocopy, with some minor digital repair. Adorable and romantic. .Woo your sweetheart with a vintage cupid card… it is the perfect expression of love for Valentine’s Day!
