Cupid and Psyche
Medium
Pen and black ink and brush and brown wash heightened with lead white (discolored), on cream wove paper prepared with an orange wash, laid down on cream board
Dimensions
35.5 × 43 cm (14 × 16 15/16 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81929
Art Historical Context
Giuseppe Cammarano'sCupid and Psyche (1821) captures the timeless myth of the god of love and his mortal beloved, a story from Apuleius' ancient Roman novel *The Golden Ass*. This Neoclassical drawing reflects the early 19th-century fascination with classical antiquity, evoking tender romance amid divine trials. Cammarano, a Neapolitan artist trained in the rigorous academic tradition, infused the scene with graceful figures and dramatic emotion, bridging Enlightenment ideals of harmony with emerging Romantic sentiment. Executed in pen and black ink with brush and brown wash, the work is heig...