Cupid and Psyche: Four Octagons and Eight Drawings of Cupid
date: label: Date
content: 1810–15
name: label: Designer
content: Felice Giani, Italian, 1758–1823
notes: label: Catalogue Status
content: Research in Progress
label: Description
content: Top center: in a landscape, Psyche lies nude in the lap of seated Cupid, holding a wreath over his head. Caption: "Baccio d'amore e Psiche." Beneath: sketch for another pose of Psyche. Top right: two octagons with Psyche standing, showing butterfly incorporating soul to seated Cupid. Pose of Cupid altered in lower design in which composition more concentrated. Written between designs: "amore Psiche contempla l'anima." Bottom center: octagon, showing Psyche kneeling upon bed contemplating sleeping Cupid. She raises lamp with left hand, "Psiche contempla Amore." Bottom right horizontally, at left: Cupid running toward left; he holds lighted torch, butterfly flies over, "l'amore consuma l'anima." At right: Cupid flies toward right blowing trumpet, holding bow in right hand, "fama d'amore." Along left edge, horizontally, six representations of Cupid. First shows him standing, turned toward right after having shot arrow, "Amore scocco il dardo." Second Cupid stands turned toward left, bends bow, "amore inqurva larco/ l'anima." Third Cupid runs toward right, holding golden apple in left hand, "Amore trionfa di/ Paride." Fourth Cupid dances toward right holding flowers in both raised hands, "Amore sparge fiori sulli talami." Fifth Cupid standing playing lyre and singing, caption: "amore sona la lira/ Danacreonte." Sixth Cupid walks toward right, holding lighted torches in both hands, "Amore acende le/ faci." Reverse: in opposite direction, top left: three rough pen sketches of square panels, two of which show child in wreath. Third one with flourish in oblong frame, struck out.
place: label: made in
content: Italy
setName: label: See more items in
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
label: See more items in
content: Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design Department
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Museum purchase through gift of various donors
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 1901-39-1635
objectType: label: Type
content: figures
label: Object Name
content: Drawing
label: Type
content: Drawing
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Pen and dark brown ink, brush and brown watercolor wash over traces of graphite, on laid paper
label: Dimensions
content: 38.5 x 27.7 cm (15 3/16 x 10 7/8 in.)