Title
Cupid and Psyche, 1817. Creator: Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748-1825).
Caption
Cupid and Psyche, 1817. David used the story of Cupid and Psyche to explore the conflict between idealized love and physical reality. Cupid, lover of the beautiful mortal Psyche, visited her nightly on the condition that she not know his identity. Cupid was usually depicted as an ideal adolescent, but here David presents him as an ungainly teenager smirking at his sexual conquest.David took inspiration from a number of ancient texts, including an obscure, recently published Greek poem by Moschus that describes Cupid as a mean-spirited brat with dark skin, flashing eyes, and curly hair.
Credit line
Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Art
Reference
HRM19F77_132
Model release
NA
Property release
NA
License type
Rights managed
Available size
54,1Mb (3,3Mb) / 16,7in x 12,6in / 5000 x 3785 (300dpi)