Cupid and Psyche

1817
Oil on canvas
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund

For many ancient authors, Cupid represented the physical elements of love, while Psyche symbolized the mental and emotional side of human relationships. David shows Psyche sleeping contentedly, while Cupid, who looks like an awkward teenager, appears uncertain of how to behave. Not surprisingly, when the painting was first exhibited, many observers found this unconventional treatment unsettling, and it was not well received.

The Farewell of Telemachus 
and Eucharis

1818
Oil on canvas
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Designed as a thematic pendant to Cupid and Psyche, David's painting, with its idealized figures and its sumptuous color, illustrates a relatively obscure mythological romance. Telemachus must leave the nymph Eucharis in order to continue searching for his father, the Greek hero Odysseus. Eucharis lays her head on her lover's shoulder in an attempt to detain him; Telemachus places a hand on the nymph's leg as he gently tries to free himself from her embrace. Perhaps in response to criticism of Cupid and Psyche, David idealized the faces of both Telemachus and Eucharis.

The Anger of Achilles

1819
Oil on canvas
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

David's theme is a free interpretation of an episode in Homer's Iliad. To placate the gods, the Greek general Agamemnon must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia; he lures her to his tent with the false promise of marriage to the warrior Achilles, who draws his sword in anger. The life-size cropped figures were highly unusual in the classical painting tradition. David was pleased by the result, saying that "never before have I done a picture that was better and more surely partakes of the simplicity and energy of ancient Greece."

Sappho, Phaon, and Cupid

1809
Oil on canvas
The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

According to David, this painting shows the Greek poet Sappho swooning in the embrace of her lover, the handsome youth Phaon, her fingers still unconsciously plucking the strings of a lyre held by Cupid. David presents the couple's passion with typical restraint. Remarkably for a mythological subject, the characters exhibit a near portrait-like specificity, turning their heads to engage the viewer directly. This painting was commissioned by a wealthy diplomat living in Paris.

Alexander, Apelles, and Campaspe

c. 1813–23
Oil on panel
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille

Pliny the Elder describes how Alexander the Great commissioned Apelles, the greatest artist of the ancient world, to paint a picture of Campaspe, one of Alexander's concubines. During the sittings, the artist and model fell in love; the emperor in turn gave Campaspe to Apelles as a token of his esteem for the painter. Napoleon was often described as the modern incarnation of Alexander, and David as a new Apelles. David worked on the painting for many years, never completing it, which may reflect his ambivalent feelings for the emperor.