Cupid Crowned by Psyche

Cupid Crowned by Psyche or Psyche Crowning Cupid is a 1785-1790 oil on canvas painting by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, now in the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille. It shows a scene from the myth of Cupid and Psyche, with a figure of Modesty standing behind Psyche and two cupids in the background placing rose crowns on a bed and throwing incense on a tripod.[1]

Cupic Crowned by Psyche (1785-1790) by Jean-Baptiste Greuze

The work represents a return to the classical themes Greuze had abandoned after the poor reception for his The Emperor Severus Reproaching His Son Caracalla (1769). He began the work around the same time as he was commissioned to paint Innocence Led Captive by Love, another scene involving Cupid, by the comte d'Artois. However, Cupid Crowned remained incomplete, possibly due to the onset of the French Revolution, and was only exhibited publicly upon the death of the artist's daughter and heir Caroline Greuze in 1842. It was sold the following year and passed through several hands before reaching its present home in 1873 as part of a bequest by Alexandre Leleux.[2]

References
  1. "PBA-opacweb.lille entry" (in French).
  2. "Joconde entry" (in French).
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