Johann Christian Reinhart

There is an almost identical watercolour in the Kupferstichkabinett of the Hamburger Kunsthalle (inv. no. 49156), which is considered a preparatory study for the oil painting preserved in the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig. It depicts a rocky landscape that includes a spring overgrown with lush vegetation, in front of which a woman dressed in white sits, her gaze raised to the sky. The scene refers to the story of Cupid and Psyche from Apuleius' Metamorphoses (also known as The Golden Ass). After Psyche had broken her husband's trust and laid eyes on him, Venus, Cupid's mother, set her four tasks. As a third test, Psyche was to draw water from a remote mountain spring guarded by snakes. Recognising Psyche's loyalty and her predicament, Jupiter's eagle comes to her aid, from whose clutches Psyche finally receives the filled vessel. - Paper somewhat thinned along the lateral edges of the sheet. Individual brown spots in the sky (studio marks?). A tiny tear in the left area of the sky, with a further, carefully restored loss below. In good condition. We would like to thank Dr F. Carlo Schmid, Düsseldorf, for confirming the authenticity (e-mail dated 2.10.25).