SKETCHBOOK

Psyché ranimée par le baiser de l'Amour

If anyone of you has ever visited a museum with me, for sure you will know how much I am addicted to those classical Greek and Roman sculptures. During my visited to the Louvre Museum last December, I was very impressed by the beauty of The Psyche ranimee par le basiser de IÁmour by Italian Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova.
This work portrays the final scene in the story of Cupid and Psyche which Cupid spreads his wing to give a kiss to the debilitated Psyche. The collapsing body of Psyche (force down) is lifted by Cupid (force up). Antonio Canova completely dissolved the materiality of the marble and turned it into something anti-gravity, completely weightless through the elegant gestures of the two figures. Through the hand of Canova, the single material used - marble had magical converted to different objects which their substantial reality were truly expressed - the roughness of the rock, the smoothness of the draperies…
I had done a few study sketches of the sculpture even through I dont really enjoy drawing in a public area while people are walking around…=..=

posted by ryxx @ 3:36 AM