Jacopo Zucchi - Cupid and Psyche

• Title: Cupid and Psyche
• Artist: Jacopo Zucchi (1540-1595)
• Date: 1589
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 173 x 130 cm

The painting depicts the decisive moment in the tale of Cupid and Psyche when the maiden, driven by curiosity and encouraged by the evil sisters, decides to learn the identity of the mysterious lover who visits her every day at sunset without showing his face. The extraordinarily beautiful Psyche decides to discover the identity of her young lover by entering his room carrying a razor and an oil lamp. As she approaches the body of the handsome god, she accidently lets fall a drop of boiling oil onto the boy’s shoulder. Upon awakening, he flies away.

Zucchi was renowned for his depictions of mythological subjects and in this work demonstrated great precision in such details as the flowers, jewellery and fabrics.