This stunning marble sculpture depicts either the moment when Cupid revives his lost love from her eternal sleep. This sculpture is based on the famous work by the Italian master Antonio Canova. Canova treated this subject multiple times and it was one of his most successful works, combining a tender subject with an extraordinary composition full of movement and intertwining curves. Although this treatment features a wingless Cupid, the sculpture is just as tender and touching. In fact, the lack of the arching wings centers the focus on their embrace. Their arms gently wrapped around each other as Cupid lifts his love upwards, soon to kiss. The treatment of this work is as beautiful and lovely as the fable itself. Could this sculpture be by the hands of Canova himself? Perhaps it was a study used to perfect the intricate intertwining forms of the composition on a smaller scale. Perhaps this was an assignment for one of his students or a practice treatment by a member of his workshop. Any speculation of whose hand was at work here is moot. An attribution will neither diminish nor enhance the beauty and spectacle of this sculpture. Gazing upon this masterpiece, one is reminded of Psyche herself: a beauty so overwhelming as to invoke the envy of Venus herself. - (PF.5826)

Sculpture