Cupid Scene Analysis

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When attempting to portray the story of the god of love Cupid and his lover Psyche, one of the most important scenes is when Psyche attempts to discover the identity of the man that she has loved for so long. There are many elements of this scene that make it important when discussing the story of Cupid and Psyche, but some of the main elements are the sleeping Cupid as he lays unaware of the actions of Psyche, and the expression of innocent curiosity of Psyche as she longs to discover who the man of her dreams really is while using a candle to discover his identity. These elements are crucial to this scene because it shows the extent to which each person trusts the other. As Cupid lays on the bed asleep, he is showing that he has developed …show more content…

Corvi shows a soft smile on both the face of Cupid and the face of Psyche, hinting at the fact that they were both happy in their relationship, however, Psyche needed an answer to the burning question in her mind of her lover’s identity. Corvi does a magnificent job of creating a look of admiration in the expression of Psyche as she gazes at the man she has loved for the first time. While making this painting more monochromatic than polychromatic, the artist uses high value contrast to create a focus on both Psyche and Cupid, which helps to portray the use of a candle by Psyche. Although the creation date of this painting seems to be during the Rococo art movement, the dark and dull colors and slightly melancholy theme do not quite seem to match the average Rococo elements, meaning that it could have been created during the transition from the Rococo movement to the Neoclassicism …show more content…

Because this painting was completed during the Neoclassicism art movement, Lagreneé does an excellent job of giving attention to detail in the room of Cupid and Psyche to portray the expressions of the sleeping Cupid while Psyche is about to realize who the man she has been sleeping with truly is. The bright hues utilized in this painting seem to draw the attention of the viewer to Cupid before Psyche to help portray the importance of Cupid being asleep while Psyche seeks to discover who he is. Lagreneé does an excellent job of showing the two levels of trust that the two characters have in each other by showing Cupid spread out in the bed, completely at the will of his lover, while she disobeys his one request of

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