Cherubs are often depicted as good-natured and mischievous creatures who enjoy playing tricks on humans and are often used in tattoos as angelic figures, either in standalone tattoo art or as part of religious designs.
Cherub tattoos are heavily associated with sculpture and art – which changed how cherubs were depicted.
Cupid, for example, was the Roman god of love, once depicted as a youth, who became the bow and arrow toting menace we know and enjoy through Renaissance painting and sculpture.
Cherub tattoos make very popular detailed single needle designs, or black and gray shaded tattoos with a classical bent.
Check out the collection of 29 best cherub tattoo ideas below to get inspiration for your own angelic piece of body art.
1. Delicate Cherub Tattoos
2. Chest Tattoos
3. Cupid Tattoos
4. Cute Tattoo Designs
5. Evil Cherub Tattoo Art
6. Realistic Cherub Tattoos
7. Simple and Small Tattoos
8. Sleeping Cherub Tattoo Art
What does a cherub tattoo symbolize?
Cherubs are often depicted as good-natured and mischievous creatures who enjoy playing tricks on humans and are often used in tattoos as angelic figures, either in standalone tattoo art or as part of religious designs.
What we know as cherubs – the small chubby children with angelic features and characteristics, are very different from the cherubim of the bible (who are exotic, fully grown winged creatures bathed in the fiery light of God.).
What does a Cupid tattoo mean?
In Ancient Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of love (a comparable figure to Eros in Ancient Greece).
Cupid was the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, who before the Renaissance was depicted as a male teen with a bow, who shoots arrows at people to cause them to fall in love with others.
Cupid (or putti in Italy) since the Renaissance era, is now etched as a mischievous boy, who takes pleasure in playing tricks on people to toy with their emotions.
His mischief is said to symbolize the capricious nature of love and matters of the heart.
What style of cherub tattoo should I get?
Cherub tattoos are heavily associated with sculpture and art, so make very popular detailed single needle designs, or black and gray shaded tattoos with a classical bent.
Some collectors like to make them smaller and simple, so images of cupid or angelic cherubs may be done in simple black ink linework.
For the more adventurous, cherub tattoos look great when applied with subtle colors, or can be depicted with an evil nature to flip the traditional view of their meaning.
Where should I place my cherub tattoo?
Cherub tattoo designs can go practically anywhere, as they are most often etched as small pieces of body art.
Popular areas for cherub tattoos include the inner arm, outer bicep, shoulder, back, and chest, however, contemporary spaces such as the neck, thigh, and lower leg/ankle are also becoming inked more often.
How much does a cherub tattoo cost?
Cherub tattoos are usually small to mid-sized pieces. Simple black linework and traditional black and gray pieces can cost in the range of $150-$300 for a design inked by an established professional artist.
More intensive designs, such as single needle tattoo work, or color neo-traditional cherubs are more expensive, often needing a specialist and requiring more time to complete.
Always make sure you have a solid understanding of the price before sitting in the chair and leave some budget set aside for a tip.