Jules Machard
Sampans, 1839 – Bellevue, 1900
Two studies of Venus for the ceiling “Psyche returned to Love”
200 x 130 mm – 7 7/8 x 5 1/8 in.
Pen and black ink on paper.
Stamped signature J. Machard (L. 5030) lower right.
This drawing belongs to a set of 85 drawings from the studio of Jules Machard presented by Drawings-online. Read our focus on the artist.
On his return from Rome in 1874, Jules Machard was invited to London by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleugh, who commissioned three paintings for the ceilings of Montagu House Castle. These works, of mythological subjects, represented Psyche returned to Love, Psyche carried off by Zephyr and the Passage of Venus before the Sun.
This sheet is said to be preparatory to Psyche Rendered to Love, which the artist exhibited at the 1876 Salon. The work represents the reunion of Psyche and Eros whose love had been thwarted by the jealousy of the goddess Aphrodite.
