ticketsMember | Make a donation

Cupid and Psyche

1794
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 627
The love affair between Cupid and Psyche is one of the best known classical myths, recounted in the Latin novel The Golden Ass by Apuleius. Many Neoclassical paintings and sculptures derived inspiration from the story. Cupid, lover of the mortal Psyche, forbids her to cast eyes upon him and visits her only at night. Disobeying him, Psyche holds a light over his sleeping body, for which she is punished by Aphrodite. The scene conveyed by this modello is of Psyche being rescued in Cupid's embrace.

Canova made two slightly different versions of this composition. The original Cupid and Psyche, commissioned in 1787 by Scottish patron John Campbell while on his Grand Tour, was completed in 1793. It was later acquired by Napoleon's brother-in-law and is now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. This full-scale model was prepared for Canova's slightly different second version (showing Psyche with butterfly wings) made for Prince Nicolas Youssoupov and now in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. It was inherited by Canova's assistant, Adamo Tadolini (1788–1868), who used it to replicate additional versions. The metal pins distributed over the surface were inserted to assist the sculptor in transferring the complex group's precise form from plaster to the marble block out of which the final sculpture would be carved, by means of the pointing system.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cupid and Psyche
  • Artist: Antonio Canova (Italian, Possagno 1757–1822 Venice)
  • Date: 1794
  • Culture: Italian, Rome
  • Medium: Plaster
  • Dimensions: Overall: 53 × 59 1/2 × 32 in. (134.6 × 151.1 × 81.3 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Isidor Straus, 1905
  • Object Number: 05.46
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Audio

Cover Image for 5228. Cupid and Psyche

5228. Cupid and Psyche

0:00
0:00
We're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. Please email info@metmuseum.org to request a transcript for this track.

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Bust of Napoleon, Antonio Canova Italian, White marble (probably Carrara), Italian
Bust of Napoleon
Antonio Canova
ca. 1808–14
Drawing after a Lithograph of a Recumbent Lion., Antonio Canova Italian, Brush and black and gray wash, graphite and black chalk
Drawing after a Lithograph of a Recumbent Lion.
Antonio Canova
n.d.
The Vestal, Antonio Canova Italian, Marble, Italian
The Vestal
Antonio Canova
probably ca. 1819–23
Study of a Nude Man in Profile turned to the Right, Antonio Canova Italian, Pen and brown ink over graphite
Study of a Nude Man in Profile turned to the Right
Antonio Canova
n.d.
Venus and Cupid, Antonio Canova Italian, Terracotta, Italian
Venus and Cupid
Antonio Canova
1798–99

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.