France, 19th century / 1817
Cupid and Psyche
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Cupid and Psyche as painting (France, 19th century · 1817).
Jacques-Louis David included two butterflies in this painting: one above the slumbering Psyche and the other on the base of the couple's bed frame.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on canvas and credits Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825).
The museum's collection notes: David used the story of Cupid and Psyche to explore the conflict between idealized love and physical reality. Cupid, lover of the beautiful mortal Psyche, visited her nightly on the condition that she not know his identity. Cupid was usually depicted as an ideal adolescent, but here David presents him as an ungainly teenager smirking at his sexual conquest. David took inspiration from a number of ancient texts, including an obscure, recently published Greek poem by Moschus that describes Cupid as a mean-spirited brat with flashing eyes and curly hair.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtCupid and PsycheOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.