Cupid and Psyche

gray wash and pen and black ink with white paint and traces of black chalk Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)/1813

Description

This drawing belongs to a group of preparatory studies for Jacques-Louis David's painting Cupid and Psyche, also in the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection. Here, David integrated looser charcoal sketches into a finished work in which his composition was fully established. Only minor details, such as Cupid's facial expression, were ultimately changed. In layers of diluted gray wash and outlines of black ink, David evoked the precise appearance of his final canvas using monochromatic media.

Provenance

Given by the artist to Nicholas Phillippe Auguste, Compte de Forbin [1777-1841], Paris; Private collection, Paris; (sale, Hotel Drouot, November 7, 1973, no. 107); (Galerie Arnoldi-Livie, Munich); (Heim Gallery, London); (Artemis Group (David Carritt), London); (Eugene V. Thaw, New York); Ed Hill, El Paso, Texas; Elizabeth Eddy, Ohio; (Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York); Paul Weiss, New York; (Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Dimensions

16.7 × 22.4 cm

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Movement / Period

Drawings

Accession No

2002.91

Official Citations

[The Cleveland Museum of Art Official Record][Full Resolution Image]

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)

Drawings • France, 19th century • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Continuous Discovery