Artwork
Zephyr and Psyche
Zephyr and Psyche is a crayon print by the Romanticist artist Pierre Claude François Delorme. It dates from 1820 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:by later hand, lower left in graphite: Zephyr et Psyché
About this work
Overview
Zephyr and Psyche is a crayon-manner lithograph on wove paper, produced by Pierre Claude François Delorme around 1820. This print depicts a dynamic, aerial scene featuring two figures in mid-air above a rocky cliff.
Subject & Meaning
The print illustrates the mythological figures Zephyr (with wings, conveying a gentle, surprised demeanor) and Psyche (soft-featured, draped in flowing fabric). Their intertwined, twisting poses suggest a moment of tender, weightless interaction.
Technique & Style
Delorme employed loose, sketchy lines characteristic of the crayon-manner lithograph technique, imbuing the scene with a dreamy, kinetic quality. The blended rendering of wings, fabric, and surrounding air enhances the ethereal atmosphere.
History & Provenance
Created circa 1820, this work exists as a proof before the addition of a title, indicating an early stage in the print's production process. Specific provenance details are not provided.
Context
Zephyr and Psyche reflects the early 19th-century interest in mythological subjects and the expressive potential of lithography, a relatively new printmaking technique at the time.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
L'invocation a l'amour
The Dimission of Adan and Eve
La Fontaine d'Amour (The Fountain of Love)
Jupiter and Antiope
Grasp All, Lose All (Qui trop embrasse, mal etrient)
Mercury and Pandora
The Reunion of Cupid and Psyche
Nymph Astride a Satyr (Jeune fille a califourchon sur un satyre)
Apollo and Daphne
Mercury bearing Psyche to Olympus