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 (after 1813-after 1841); Private collection, Paris (?-?); (sale, Hotel Drouot, November 7, 1973, no. 107) (1973); (Galerie Arnoldi-Livie, Munich) (1975-?); (Heim Gallery, London) (by 1975); (Artemis Group (David Carritt), London) (by 1979-?); (Eugene V. Thaw, New York) (after 1979-?); Ed Hill, El Paso, Texas (?-?); Elizabeth Eddy, Ohio (?-?); (Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York) (around 1980-?); Paul Weiss, New York (?-?); (Richard L. Feigen & Co., New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH) (by 1994-2003); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2002-)
Accession Number
2002.91
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.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
