Antonio CanovaItalian, 1757–1822Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss
L'Amour et Psyché à demi couchée
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss” now? Musée du Louvre, Salle 403, Aile Denon, Niveau 0, Paris. Yes, on view now. Checked September 26, 2026.
Closed· opens at 9:00 AM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (Italian: Amore e Psiche; French: Psyché ranimée par le baiser de l'Amour; Slovene: Amor in Psihe; Russian: Амур и Психея, romanized: Amúr i Psikhéya) is a sculpture by Italian artist Antonio Canova first commissioned in 1787 by Colonel John Campbell. It is regarded as a masterpiece of Neoclassical sculpture, but shows the mythological lovers at a moment of great emotion, characteristic of the emerging movement of Romanticism. It represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness, immediately after awakening the lifeless Psyche with a kiss. The story of Cupid and Psyche is taken from Lucius Apuleius' Latin novel The Golden Ass, and was popular as a theme in art.
Joachim Murat acquired the first or prime version (pictured) in 1800. After his death, the statue entered the Louvre Museum in Paris, France in 1824;
Read on
Prince Yusupov, a Russian nobleman acquired the second version of the piece from Canova in Rome in 1796, and it later entered the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. A full-scale model for the second version is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Details
- Accession number
- MR 1777
In the catalog
Sources
- Musée du Louvre
- Image: Musée du Louvre — © 2011 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / René-Gabriel Ojéda
In the life of Antonio Canova
The whole life1775–1800
Shows his statues by candlelight
In the last quarter of the eighteenth century it became fashionable to view galleries at night by torchlight, and Canova seized on the fad: he displayed his works in his studio by candlelight and finished the statues by candlelight with special tools, softening the transitions between the parts of the nude. He then rubbed the marble with pumice, sometimes for weeks or months, and if need be with tripoli and lead.
1790–1795
The monument to Titian is never built
In 1790 he began work on a pyramid-shaped tomb for Titian in the church of the Frari, but by 1795 the project was abandoned for lack of funds. Canova reused the idea for the tomb of Archduchess Maria Christina in the Augustinian church in Vienna.
1790s
Declines Catherine the Great’s invitation
News of Canova’s work reached Russia, and Empress Catherine II tried to summon the sculptor to her court; he politely declined the honourable invitation and, in thanks, made a second version of “Cupid and Psyche”, now in the Hermitage in St Petersburg.
1791–1818
Honorary member of many academies in Europe and America
Canova was elected an honorary member of many academies: Florence (1791), Stockholm (1796), Verona (1803), Venice (1804), Siena (1805), Lucca (1806), St Petersburg (1804), Geneva (1804), Denmark (1805), Graz (1812), Marseille (1813), Monaco (1814), New York (1817), Antwerp and Vilnius (1818), and also Philadelphia.
May 1792
Returns to Possagno to recover his health
Strenuous work had weakened his health, and in May 1792 Canova decided to visit his family in Possagno; on his way back to Rome he stopped in Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Mantua, Parma, Modena and Bologna, winning general acclaim in every one of them.
1794
Makes an exception: restores sculptures for Zulian
Canova disliked restoring ancient statues, but in 1794 he made an exception for his friend and early patron Zulian, restoring several sculptures that Zulian had moved from Rome to Venice.
