French (Paris), late 18th or early 19th century
Terracotta
Signed by Claude Michel, called Clodion (1738-1814

Claude Michel, known as Clodion, was French but lived in Rome between 1762 and 1771. There he studied classical Roman sculpture, as well as the work of Michelangelo and Bernini. He was famous for small-scale terracotta groups, often made for private collectors. This work is thought to date from the late 1790s and be one of a group made by Clodion to re-establish his position after the Revolution and intended for returning emigr� families.

Cupid is here represented as a young man with outstretched wings, conveying the swooning Psyche through the clouds, surrounded by 'amorini' or little winged putti (which are characteristic of Clodion's work).

The story of Cupid and Psyche was by the 2nd century AD writer, Lucius Apuleius, in his 'Metamorphoses' (also known as 'The Golden Ass'). The widespread attention given to Psyche, the (mortal) daughter of a King and Queen, for her exceptional beauty, angers the goddess Venus greatly. She despatches her son, Cupid, to make her fall in love with a monstrous creature, but instead he falls in love with her himself.

This group demonstrates Clodion's skill in not only successfully combining and intertwining a variety of elements in a very tight composition, but also in his vigorous working and tooling of the clay to create texture which contrasts with smooth skin adjacent.

This is possibly the group of the Abduction of Psyche which was amongst the effects of Clodion at the time of his death.