Cupid and Psyche

David turns a myth of perfect love into something awkward, physical, and deliberately unidealized.

What to notice

Compare Psyche’s sleeping stillness with Cupid’s smirk and wiry body; the tension comes from how far the scene departs from polished mythological convention.

Discover

Late in his career, David used the Cupid and Psyche story to question the distance between idealized love and bodily reality. Ancient literary sources encouraged him to portray Cupid as mischievous rather than noble.