Psyche Carried Off by the Zephrys

Called the “prince of lithographers, ” Hyacinthe Aubry-Lecomte was one of the leading practitioners of the new medium of lithography in Restoration Paris. He produced skillful prints after admired paintings by contemporary artists, including works by Anne-Louis Girodet (his teacher), François Gérard, and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. This print is after Prud’hon celebrated work Psyche Carried Off by the Zephyrs. The composition was so successful, Prud’hon executed a number of autograph versions of the composition, both in painting and drawing, including a highly finished chalk drawing in Mia's collection (76.78). Aubry-Lecomte also capitalized on the great demand for this work by executing this print the year after Prud’hon’s death. A large version of the drawing, formerly in the Odiot collection, now in a Japanese private collection, was Aubry-Lecomte’s source for this lithograph. The subject is the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche. Psyche was left by her family on a mountaintop to marry a monstrous groom, but the kindly west winds, the Zephyrs, lifted her up and transported her to Cupid’s palace.