Image · Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Neoclassical · Sculpture
Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss
Antonio Canova · 1787–1793
ArtistAntonio Canova
Date1787–1793
TypeSculpture
MediumMarble
Dimensions155 cm × 168 cm × 101 cm (61 in × 66 in × 39.7 in)
LocationDenon Wing
— The Work
About this masterpiece
Canova’s sculpture captures the climactic moment from Apuleius’s Metamorphoses when Cupid awakens the lifeless Psyche with a kiss. The two figures form a perfect X-shaped composition, his outspread wings rising behind her arched body as her hands reach softly to his face. The polished marble seems to dissolve flesh into vapor, embodying Neoclassical grace.
— Context
Historical significance
Commissioned in 1787 by the Scottish collector John Campbell and acquired by the Louvre in 1824, the work is regarded as Canova’s masterpiece. It exemplifies the late 18th-century revival of Classical mythology and the Romantic fascination with love that conquers death.
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