Psyche borne by a Zephyr, c. 1820

John Gibson RA (1790 - 1866)

RA Collection: Art

A pen and ink drawing of 'Psyche borne by Zephyr'. The winged Zephyr is seen from the right in profile, carrying the partially draped, sleeping Psyche over his right shoulder. The drawing is in pen and ink outline with shading in a deep sepia wash

Gibson produced both a relief and a sculpted group of this subject in 1816 and 1822 respectively. The latter depicted two Zephyrs carrying Psyche rather than one as shown here. This design is closer, but not identical, to the illustration 'And sees her safe to love in Zephyr's arms conveyed' on p. 24 of Elizabeth Strutt's The Story of Psyche [a poem].With a classical enquiry into the signification and origin of the fable ... with designs in outline by J. Gibson and Plate LVII in Guglielmi's publication (see references).