Cupid and Psyche
1794
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
Overall: 53 × 59 1/2 × 32 in. (134.6 × 151.1 × 81.3 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
Italian, Rome
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Isidor Straus, 1905
Accession Number
05.46
Tags
Art Historical Context
Antonio Canova’s plaster model of Cupid and Psyche captures a tender moment from classical mythology, with the winged god of love embracing the mortal Psyche. Created in Rome in 1794, the work reflects Canova’s central role in the Neoclassical movement, which revived the balanced forms and idealized beauty of ancient Greek and Roman art. Working in the Eternal City, Canova drew inspiration from both antique sculpture and the dramatic narratives of the ancient world. The choice of plaster is significant: it served as a detailed preparatory model that allowed the artist to refine proportions an...
About the Artist
Antonio Canova · 1757–1822
Antonio Canova, born on November 1, 1757, in the small town of Possagno in the Republic of Venice, was immersed in sculpture from childhood. His father, Pietro Canova, a stonecutter, died when Antonio was just four, prompting his mother, Angela Zardo Fantolin, to remarry and place him under the care of his paternal grandfather, Pasino Canova. A skilled stonemason and sculptor of late Baroque altar...