Cupid and Psyche
ca. 1810
Medium
Cotton
Dimensions
L. 36 3/8 x W. 38 3/4 inches (selvage to selvage) 92.4 x 98.4 cm
Classification
Textiles-Printed
Culture
French, Jouy-en-Josas
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mildred R. Mottahedeh, 1984
Accession Number
1984.465.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
This printed cotton panel, created around 1810 by Jean-Baptiste Huet I in Jouy-en-Josas, France, exemplifies the celebrated toiles de Jouy tradition. Huet, a leading designer for the Oberkampf manufactory, specialized in large-scale narrative scenes transferred onto fabric using innovative copperplate printing techniques. The medium allowed for crisp, detailed imagery that brought classical stories into everyday domestic settings, transforming ordinary furnishings into works of art during the Napoleonic era. The composition draws from the beloved myth of Cupid and Psyche, featuring the winged...