Bringing marble to life
The Louvre’s Masterpieces
Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss
Antonio Canova
When you enter the Michelangelo gallery, the work of another Italian sculptor might be the first to catch your eye… Cupid can be hard to resist! Antonio Canova specialised in delicate marble depictions of mythological episodes; it’s easy to see why he was so admired by the Romantic poets of the late 19th century! He managed to capture emotion in stone: Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss instantly conveys a sense of the feeling of love. Rather than just copying a classical model, Canova took an almost choreographic approach to the composition of his sculpture, choosing the compelling moment when the goddess awakens – a moment captured in a masterpiece that has lost none of its power to move us.
A different view of the duo
Not far from Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss, another sculpture of the lovers shows them younger, at the start of their tumultuous love affair… In this work, Canova chose to depict them standing – the challenge being to achieve a sense of movement and life. Once again, you should walk around the sculpture to see it from the back: the young lovers make a very different and far more modern impression!