Cupid and Psyche

The painting entered the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) as part of the Flemish Art Collection, where it remains held today. It is dated by the museum to 1650, a date also recorded in the work’s internal documentation and the museum’s cataloguing system. The work’s subject derives from the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche, which Jordaens rendered in oil on canvas at mid-century.

No documented commission or early ownership history prior to its presence in Antwerp is provided in the cited sources.

Cupid and Psyche, painted by Jacob Jordaens in 1650, is held by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) in Belgium. The work belongs to the museum's collection and is also part of the Vlaamse Kunstcollectie, the Flemish Art Collection consortium. Its oil-on-canvas support measures 167.5 cm in height by 259.6 cm in width.

No specific accession number or prior exhibition history is documented in the available sources.

Created circa 1650, this Flemish Baroque oil work portrays the mythic lovers Cupid and Psyche in an intimate, outdoor setting. The composition centers on three nude figures: a reclining woman, a second woman leaning toward her, and a small winged child holding a staff, all surrounded by delicate foliage and a sleeping dog. The scene is rendered with a soft, atmospheric light that emphasizes the forms and creates a sense of gentle repose.

During the mid‑17th century, Flemish artists frequently revisited classical narratives, integrating them with contemporary aesthetic ideals. Jordaens, a contemporary of Rubens, often employed robust figures and vibrant color schemes to reinterpret ancient myths. The inclusion of a putto aligns with a broader European tradition in which such cherubic figures serve as symbols of love, innocence, or divine intervention within mythological compositions.