Cupid and Psyche

The artist Joshua Reynolds, first president of the Royal Academy, presented this striking painting at the Academy’s annual exhibition in 1789. It depicts the moment when the beautiful mortal Psyche discovers the identity of the god Cupid, the secret lover who had been visiting her at night. Reynolds used the setting of this mythological story to explore light and shadow in painting.

Courtauld Insight

‘The textual source for the story of Cupid and Psyche, Apuleius’s Metamorphoses (2nd century CE), celebrated Psyche’s stunning physical beauty. However, at the Royal Academy, students learned to draw by observing naked male models, and the culture of Neoclassicism gloried in male nudity. Thus, in this painting, Reynolds focuses the viewer’s attention primarily on the gleaming, smooth flesh of Cupid.’

Satish Padiyar, Honorary Research Fellow, The Courtauld