Cupid and Psyche

Auguste Rodin

before 1893 · Marble · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

In this variation on the theme of lost love, Rodin depicts the moment that the god Cupid abandons the mortal Psyche at the command of the jealous goddess Venus. Outstretched across a block of unfinished marble, Psyche desperately clings to the god as he lowers his face toward her and ascends with beating wings. The projecting marble strut supporting Cupid’s arm binds him to the block and locks the lovers in an eternal parting embrace. In 1893 Cupid and Psyche and Orpheus and Eurydice became Rodin’s first carved works to enter an American collection.

Artist

Auguste Rodin

Date

before 1893

Medium

Marble

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Thomas F. Ryan, 1910