François Gérard - Cupid and Psyche (1798)
- Title: Cupid and Psyche or Allegory of Eros and Psyche
- Artist: François Gérard (1770-1837)
- Date: 1798
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 186 × 132 cm
- Location: Le Louvre, Paris, France
- Photo credit: Themadchopper on Wikipedia in 2016
François Gérard’s "Cupid and Psyche" (1798) shows the lovers in a tender, suspended moment just before a kiss.
Psyche sits nude on a rocky ledge, her body twisted slightly as she turns her face toward the viewer, away from Cupid. Cupid leans in from behind, one arm encircling her shoulders while the other gently lifts her chin. Their faces almost touch. The whole composition revolves around the triangle formed by their joined heads, their torsos leaning in and their upper thighs joining to form a base.
The setting is a dreamlike, twilight landscape. A blue sky and distant hills form a calm backdrop, while the reddish drapery and the rock on which Psyche is sitting anchor the scene. The lighting is soft but focused, falling most strongly on Psyche’s body so that she glows against the darker surroundings, an embodiment of ideal beauty.
Psych's pale, porcelain-like skin is modeled with the smooth, cool finish typical of French Neoclassicism, and her pose—arms folded loosely, legs drawn up—combines modesty with sensuality. Her large, slightly anxious eyes and Cupid’s gentle concentration suggest a complicated mixture of desire, tenderness, and hesitation rather than simple sentimental love.
Gérard balances classical restraint with palpable emotion. The figures are perfectly proportioned and almost sculpture-like—echoing antique marbles, specifically, Canova’s Cupid and Psyche.
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