Cupid and Psyche

146,00 €

That low-relief reproduces a painting by François GERARD (1770-1837), «Psyché et l’Amour.
The antique myth is a love story as well as a spiritual allegory : Psyché personifies human soul.
Psyché, a princess whose beauty provoked Venus’s jealousy, is beloved by the goddess’s son Cupid or Eros. Gérard represented Cupid as he plants his first kiss on Psyché’s forehead but she cannot see her divine lover. Surprised and disconcerted Psyché modestly folds up her arms on her naked bust. That scene symbolizes the first emotion of nascent love.

Moreover, Gérard painted a butterfly over the young lady’s head : the Greek word for butterfly is precisely “Psyché” and that insect symbolizes human soul.

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