Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss
| Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss | |
|---|---|
| Italian: Amore e Psiche, French: Psyché ranimée par le baiser de l'Amour | |
First version, in the Louvre, Paris, France | |
| Artist | Antonio Canova |
| Year | First version 1787–1793 |
| Type | Marble |
| Dimensions | 155 cm × 168 cm (61 in × 66 in) |
| Location | Louvre, Paris; Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg |
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (Italian: Amore e Psiche [aˈmoːre e ˈpsiːke]; French: Psyché ranimée par le baiser de l'Amour; Slovene: Amor in Psihe; Russian: Амур и Психея, romanized: Amúr i Psikhéja) is a sculpture by Italian artist Antonio Canova first commissioned in 1787 by Colonel John Campbell. It is regarded as a masterpiece of Neoclassical sculpture, but shows the mythological lovers at a moment of great emotion, characteristic of the emerging movement of Romanticism. It represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness, immediately after awakening the lifeless Psyche with a kiss. The story of Cupid and Psyche is taken from Lucius Apuleius' Latin novel The Golden Ass, and was popular as a theme in art.
Joachim Murat acquired the first or prime version (pictured) in 1800. After his death, the statue entered the Louvre Museum in Paris, France in 1824; Prince Yusupov, a Russian nobleman acquired the second version of the piece from Canova in Rome in 1796, and it later entered the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. A full-scale model for the second version is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.