Study for Cupid and Psyche

Pierre Paul Prud'hon

1783–84 · Black and white chalk with some charcoal on papier bleuté (woven) · Robert Lehman Collection

Although previously thought to be by the neo-classical painter Pierre-Paul Prud’hon, this female nude was actually drawn by his assistant or pupil. A comparison of the Lehman sheet with a drawing by Prud’hon of the same figure in a slightly different pose has led us to surmise that Prud’hon’s assistant worked from the same model right alongside the great master, a lesson in itself. It appears that Prud’hon posed his model as a preparatory exercise toward a now lost painted composition of the star-crossed couple.

Artist

Pierre Paul Prud'hon

Date

1783–84

Medium

Black and white chalk with some charcoal on papier bleuté (woven)

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975