While this sculpture shows Augustin Pajou’s alignment with the new French republic, inscribed “By the Citizen Pajou,” his first engagement with the story of Psyche was commissioned by the French crown for the royal collection. That work, whose finished marble is now in the Louvre, was roundly criticized for its fussy embroidered cushion, the messy nature of the figure’s hair, and her nudity. Although the commission was accepted, Pajou nevertheless reworked the composition three times, enhancing Psyche’s modesty by adding drapery, changing the position of her hand, and altering her setting to create the present and final model. Here, she is seated on a simple base, her raised right hand signifying her grief. While her voluptuousness remains, it is tempered by the drapery across her lap.
Pajou revisited his subjects throughout his long career, revising them to achieve new effects, as was the case with this sculpture. Yet in the end, it was Psyche that remained his most significant subject.
2025
