Displayed at · 1824
Musée du Louvre
In the Louvre since 1824, after Joachim Murat's collection passed to the museum; it stands in the Italian sculpture galleries of the Denon wing on the museum's masterpieces trail.
Sculpture
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss
Antonio Canova's marble of Cupid waking Psyche with a kiss, carved 1787–1793 and in the Louvre since 1824 — the most famous embrace in Neoclassical sculpture.
- 1787–1793
- Marble
About Antonio Canova
The moment the marble catches
The story comes from The Golden Ass of Apuleius. Psyche, ordered to bring back a flask from the underworld, opens it against instructions and falls into a deathlike sleep. Cupid, who loves her, flies down and wakes her. Canova carves the instant between sleep and waking: Psyche arches backward, arms rising, while the winged Cupid holds her head and breast, their faces a breath apart.
The composition is built on two crossing diagonals — Cupid's wings and Psyche's rising arms — locking into a kind of X at the point where the kiss is about to land. Visitors circle it because no single viewpoint holds the whole figure; the marble is polished to a softness contemporaries compared to skin.
A Scottish commission, a Napoleonic purchase
Colonel John Campbell, a British collector on the Grand Tour, commissioned the group in 1787; Canova finished it in 1793 in Rome. It never reached Campbell. Joachim Murat — Napoleon's cavalry general and later King of Naples — acquired it in 1800, and after his fall the marble entered the Louvre in 1824, where it has remained.
Canova carved a second version with the same composition in the 1790s for the Russian collector Prince Yusupov; that marble is now in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. The Louvre group is the first and prime version.
Seeing it in the Louvre
The group stands in the Louvre's Italian sculpture galleries on the ground floor of the Denon wing, on the museum's own masterpieces trail. It is one of the most photographed sculptures in the building, and the wings and raised arms make it legible from across the gallery.
Close reading
Reading the work, detail by detail
Canova suspends the myth at the instant between unconsciousness and embrace. The details show nearly touching faces, crossing arms and wings, and polished marble making awakening feel like movement beginning inside stone.
1.The kiss remains one breath away
Their faces approach without completing contact, concentrating the story in a narrow interval. The withheld kiss keeps the marble permanently at the threshold between sleep and awakening.
2.Arms and wings lock the group into an X
Psyche reaches upward while Cupid's wings and descending body move across her. The crossing diagonals stabilize a pose that would otherwise appear to keep rising and falling.
3.Cupid's hands make revival physical
One hand cradles the head while the other supports the torso. Canova translates supernatural revival into exact points of touch, letting the myth be understood through weight and care.
4.Psyche's hand tests the return to consciousness
Her fingers meet Cupid lightly rather than gripping him. The tentative contact makes revival appear gradual: she can respond, but her body has not yet fully recovered its own weight.
5.The legs keep the embrace from becoming weightless
Bent knees and crossing legs establish how the two bodies are supported on the rock. The complicated base gives physical credibility to the soaring circle made by their upper bodies.
6.Polished marble softens every transition
Light moves gradually across skin, wing, cloth, and stone even though all are carved from marble. Canova uses differences in finish and depth to make one material behave like several.
Where to see it
A viewing location has not yet been listed for this work.
Frequently asked questions
Who made Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss?
Antonio Canova, the leading Neoclassical sculptor in Europe, carved it in Rome between 1787 and 1793, on a commission from the British collector Colonel John Campbell.
What story does the sculpture tell?
The myth of Cupid and Psyche from Apuleius's Golden Ass. Psyche has opened a forbidden flask from the underworld and fallen into a deathlike sleep; Cupid wakes her with a kiss. The marble catches the instant just before their lips meet.
How did the sculpture get to the Louvre?
Through Napoleon's circle. The commissioning collector never received it; Joachim Murat, Napoleon's general and later King of Naples, bought it in 1800, and the marble entered the Louvre in 1824, where it has stayed.
Are there two versions of Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss?
Yes. Canova carved a second, closely similar group in the 1790s for Prince Yusupov, a Russian collector; it is now in the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. The Louvre marble is the first version.
Where is Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss in the Louvre?
In the Italian sculpture galleries on the ground floor of the Denon wing, on the museum's masterpieces trail — a short walk from the Winged Victory of Samothrace stairs.
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References
References
The sources below include collection records, catalogues, scholarly research, and primary materials that informed this page. They document Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, its making, and its place in cultural history.
1Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss
WebsiteWikipediaUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss page.
2Bringing marble to life — the Louvre's masterpieces trail
WebsiteMusée du LouvreUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss page.
3Antonio Canova — Encyclopaedia Britannica
WebsiteEncyclopaedia BritannicaUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss page.
4Antonio Canova
WebsiteWikipediaUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss page.
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