Jacques Louis David (French, 1748-1825). 1817, oil on canvas; 184.2 x 241.6 cm.

Psyche was so beautiful that even the goddess Venus flew into a jealous rage and sent her son Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with the most despicable man she could find. But Cupid himself fell in love with Psyche and brought her to his palace. The painting shows Cupid leaving at dawn so that the sleeping Psyche could never know his identity. Painted while David was in exile in Brussels, the work is a departure from his earlier moralizing pictures. The cool, idealized bodies are as sculptural as Neoclassical sculpture from the same period. Yet the eroticism of the young lovers and Cupid impish grin give the scene a startling human quality.

In the middle of the 18th century, artists in England and France became intensely concerned with reviving aspects of the culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Called Neoclassicism, this movement was spurred by the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Roman cities preserved by volcanic ash. Drawing inspiration from archeological remains and from ancient histories, painters like Jacques-Louis David crafted a pure and severe style of painting. At the same time, sculptors attempted to rival the achievements of the ancients in marble, while throughout Europe and America, Neoclassical buildings were designed in imitation of Roman forms. In their attempts to copy the art and moralism of Rome, Neoclassical artists were aided by earlier revivals that had taken place in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, especially by the paintings of Nicolas Poussin. Using Neoclassical ideals of reason and sobriety, the political revolutions in America and France attempted to restructure society. Europeans and Americans increasingly saw themselves as successors to the noble ancient world.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Fund, 62.37