Cupid and Psyche
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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. Scholars believe that this drawing was given by Jacques-Louis David to his pupil, the Comte de Forbin, to thank him for his continual devotion.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Details
- Maker
- Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)
- Date
- 1813
- Medium
- gray wash and pen and black ink with white paint and traces of black chalk
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 16.7 x 22.4 cm (6 9/16 x 8 13/16 in.)
- Place of origin
- France
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · Not on view
- Credit line
- Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
