Amor and Psyche

Johan Tobias Sergel's sculpture depicts a dramatic moment in the myth of Cupid and Psyche. We see the love god Cupid and a woman, Psyche (Greek word for soul), kneeling at his side. He is about to leave her after she revealed his true identity. Psyche try praying to get him to stay with her, but Cupid is already on its way to spread their wings. He pushes her from him. The myth of Cupid and Psyche is a story of impossible love, a fight for love and how love finally triumph over humans, gods weaknesses. It also shows how one man through the act can affect their fate. The sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel (1740-1814) is one of the many artists inspired by Greek antiquity. The myth of Cupid and Psyche, he has recovered from the Roman Lucius Apuleius's book "The golden donkey". The story is originally a folk tale that takes many different versions. In Sweden, maybe Lord of the Prince Hat under the earth, is the most famous example.