Unidentified Roman sculptor, Cupid and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche, c.1816

After Unidentified Roman sculptor

RA Collection: Art

The princess Psyche was so beautiful that Venus became jealous. She sent her son Cupid to make her fall in love with a hideous monster but instead Cupid fell in love with her himself.

This is a cast of a marble 'Cupid and Psyche', which was discovered near the church of S. Balbina on the Aventine Hill, Rome in 1749. The original statue is thought to be a Roman version of a late Hellenistic Greek original from the 2nd or 1st centuries BC.

In the 18th century this group was much admired as it was seen as the epitome of youthful love. It was widely reproduced often on a small scale such as Wedgwood's

Object details

Title
Cupid and Psyche
Artist/designer
After
Cast made by
From
Original in Palazzo Nuovo, Capitoline Museum, Rome
Date
c.1816
Object type
Sculpture Cast
Medium
Plaster cast
Dimensions

1342 mm x 558 mm x 460 mm, Weight: 86 kg

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
03/1504
return to start
back

Start exploring the RA Collection

read more
  • Explore art works, paint-smeared palettes, scribbled letters and more...
  • Artists and architects have run the RA for 250 years.
    Our Collection is a record of them.
Start exploring