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Standing Psyche and Love

Standing Psyche and Love is a neoclassical sculpture by the Italian artist Antonio Canova, kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Carved in white marble, it measures 145 centimetres and was made between 1796 and 1800. The work depicts the famous Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche. In this version, Canova shows the figures standing, with Psyche offering Cupid a butterfly, a symbol of her own soul. The sculpture is one of several times Canova represented this mythological couple.

Standing Psyche and Love marble sculpture displayed on a pedestal in a museum gallery with visitors in the background.
Standing Psyche and Love displayed in a museum gallery with visitors walking nearby.
November 2002 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Vintage stereoview card showing two side-by-side black-and-white prints of Standing Psyche and Love on a yellow backing card.
A vintage stereoview card featuring Standing Psyche and Love in paired black-and-white prints.
© Rijksmuseum · CC0
Close-up of Standing Psyche and Love showing two white marble figures, with one holding a small winged figure.
Close-up of Antonio Canova’s Standing Psyche and Love, showing the marble figures in an intimate pose.
© · CC BY 2.0
Close-up of Standing Psyche and Love in white marble, showing the upper bodies and faces of two figures leaning toward each other.
A close-up of Canova’s Standing Psyche and Love, showing the two marble figures leaning closely together.
February 2013 © · CC BY 2.0
A museum visitor photographs a marble winged sculpture, with another large sculpture blurred in the foreground.
A visitor photographs Standing Psyche and Love in the Louvre, with another sculpture dominating the foreground.
August 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleStanding Psyche and Love
Title in ItalianAmore e Psiche stanti
TypeSculpture
TypeSculptural group
Title in FrenchL'Amour et Psyché debout

Creator

ArtistAntonio Canova
Artist nationalityItalian
Artist styleNeoclassical

Historical context

Date of creation1796–1800
Number of versionsTwo versions

Physical characteristics

Height145 cm

Materials

MaterialWhite marble

Iconography and meaning

Iconographic detailPsyche offers Cupid a butterfly
Butterfly symbolismThe butterfly symbolizes Psyche's soul
Depicted figuresCupid and Psyche
Mythological narrativePsyche's beauty aroused Venus's jealousy, leading Venus to send Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with an ugly man; instead Cupid fell in love with her, and their love was tested before lasting forever
Mythological themeA famous pair from Greek mythology
PoseStanding

History and restoration

First version commissionCommissioned by John Campbell, an English colonel and art collector
First version saleSold in 1801 to Joachim Murat, then Marshal of the Empire under Napoleon I and King of Naples
First version later transferGiven by Murat to Napoleon in 1808
First version displayExhibited at the Louvre in 1809
Second version gift recipientOffered by Campbell to Joséphine de Beauharnais

Location and ownership

Current locationLouvre Museum, Paris
Current locationMuseum of the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg