Where Is Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss? Museum Location

Q: Where is Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss displayed?

The most famous version is at the Louvre in Paris. A second version, begun in 1796, resides in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Both were carved by Canova himself.

Q: What myth does the sculpture depict?

The sculpture shows Cupid awakening Psyche from a deathlike sleep. Venus had punished Psyche with impossible tasks. When she opened a forbidden box and collapsed, Cupid flew to her rescue, defying his mother to revive his mortal beloved.

Q: How large is Canova's Psyche sculpture?

The sculpture measures 155 by 168 centimeters (about 61 by 66 inches). Unlike many of Canova's works depicting single figures, this composition shows two intertwined bodies in a dynamic diagonal arrangement.

Q: What style is Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss?

The work is a prime example of Neoclassicism, the artistic movement that looked back to ancient Greek and Roman ideals. Canova was the movement's greatest sculptor, celebrated throughout Europe for his graceful marble figures.

Antonio Canova carved this marble work between 1787 and 1793, depicting the moment Cupid revives his beloved Psyche with a kiss. The Neoclassical sculpture captures a suspended instant, Cupid's wings spread wide as he lifts Psyche's limp form, their lips about to meet.

The myth tells of Psyche's punishment by Venus for her beauty. After trials and tribulations, including opening a forbidden box that cast her into deathlike sleep, Cupid defies his mother to save her. Canova freezes the story at its most tender moment, before the kiss, when rescue is certain but not yet complete.

The sculpture resides in the Louvre in Paris, one of Canova's most celebrated works outside Italy. A second version, begun later, stands in the Hermitage Museum. The work exemplifies Canova's ability to make marble appear soft as flesh, the figures' skin seeming to yield under imagined touch. From any angle, the composition forms an elegant X, drawing the eye to that central almost-kiss.

The most famous version is at the Louvre in Paris. A second version, begun in 1796, resides in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Both were carved by Canova himself.

The sculpture shows Cupid awakening Psyche from a deathlike sleep. Venus had punished Psyche with impossible tasks. When she opened a forbidden box and collapsed, Cupid flew to her rescue, defying his mother to revive his mortal beloved.

The sculpture measures 155 by 168 centimeters (about 61 by 66 inches). Unlike many of Canova's works depicting single figures, this composition shows two intertwined bodies in a dynamic diagonal arrangement.

The work is a prime example of Neoclassicism, the artistic movement that looked back to ancient Greek and Roman ideals. Canova was the movement's greatest sculptor, celebrated throughout Europe for his graceful marble figures.

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

Details

The Artist

More by Antonio Canova

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The Three Graces

Terpsichore Lyran (Muse of Lyric Poetry)

Perseus with the Head of Medusa

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