Cupid and a Young Woman
Medium
Lithograph on paper
Dimensions
Image: 26.3 × 18.8 cm (10 3/8 × 7 7/16 in.); Sheet: 36.5 × 27 cm (14 3/8 × 10 11/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
39624
Art Historical Context
In the Prints and Drawings department of the Art Institute of Chicago, *Cupid and a Young Woman* (1817) by Dominiqueivant Denon captures a tender, mythological moment through the innovative medium of lithography on paper. Measuring 26.3 × 18.8 cm for the image on a larger 36.5 × 27 cm sheet, intimate print depicts the mischievous god of love alongside a young woman, evoking classical themes of desire and romance popular in early 19th-century French art. Denon (1747–1825), a versatile French artist, diplomat, and director of the Louvre under Napoleon, was among the pioneers embracing lithograp...
About the Artist
Dominique-Vivant Denon · 1747–1825
Dominique-Vivant Denon (1747–1825) was a French artist, diplomat, archaeologist, and museum administrator who became the first director of the Musée du Louvre — a role that earned him the title of "the father of all museums." Born Baron Vivant de Non in Chalon-sur-Saône, Burgundy, he was educated for a career in diplomacy and served under Louis XV and Louis XVI as a gentleman of the court and as a...