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Lot Essay
A pastel of the same subject was exhibited in the Salon of 1743, T. Lefranois, op. cit., no. 222 (as lost).
Other works depicting this subject include an engraving by Franois Joullian after Coypel, and two tapestry cartoons dated 1748 for the Tenture de Dresde commissioned from the Gobelins for the apartments of the Dauphin Louis (1729-1765), T. Lefranois, op. cit., nos. 75, 255-6.
The present sheet differs from Coypel's later treatment of the myth. In the 1736 pastel Coypel took his inspiration from the myth popularized in The Golden Ass of Apuleius, achieving a narrative focus on the climax through a tight composition illuminated by the maiden's lamp. In the later works engraved by Joullian and in the tapestry cartoons, Coypel illustrates a specific scene from Molire's ballet Psych, in the grand manner of the current thtre lyrique.
Other works depicting this subject include an engraving by Franois Joullian after Coypel, and two tapestry cartoons dated 1748 for the Tenture de Dresde commissioned from the Gobelins for the apartments of the Dauphin Louis (1729-1765), T. Lefranois, op. cit., nos. 75, 255-6.
The present sheet differs from Coypel's later treatment of the myth. In the 1736 pastel Coypel took his inspiration from the myth popularized in The Golden Ass of Apuleius, achieving a narrative focus on the climax through a tight composition illuminated by the maiden's lamp. In the later works engraved by Joullian and in the tapestry cartoons, Coypel illustrates a specific scene from Molire's ballet Psych, in the grand manner of the current thtre lyrique.