
Not on display
- Artist
- George Frederic Watts 1817–1904
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 1886 × 597 mm
frame: 2215 × 933 × 83 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Presented by the Trustees of the Chantrey Bequest 1882
- Reference
- N01585
Display caption
Psyche was a mortal of such beauty that the goddess Venus became jealous of this highly praised rival. She sent her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with a monster. Cupid, however, fell in love with her himself and hid her in a palace where he visited her by night. She was forbidden to look at him, but curiosity got the better of her, resulting in their separation until Jupiter reunited them in heaven. It was the depiction of such stories from ancient mythology which earned Watts and other artists such Frederic Leighton the title ‘Olympian’, taken from Mount Olympus, the home of the gods.
Gallery label, November 2016
Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.
Explore
- emotions, concepts and ideas(16,660)
-
- universal concepts(6,446)
-
- beauty(1,483)
- actions: postures and motions(9,098)
-
- standing(3,134)
- woman(9,055)
- female(1,664)
You might like
-
George Frederic Watts Eve Tempted
exhibited 1884 -
George Frederic Watts Mammon
1884–5 -
George Frederic Watts and assistants Chaos
c.1875–82 -
George Frederic Watts ‘She shall be called woman’
c.1875–92 -
George Frederic Watts Love and Life
c.1884–5 -
George Frederic Watts The All-Pervading
1887–90 -
George Frederic Watts The Dweller in the Innermost
c.1885–6 -
George Frederic Watts Death Crowning Innocence
1886–7 -
George Frederic Watts and assistants Hope
1886 -
George Frederic Watts Faith
c.1890–6 -
George Frederic Watts Sic Transit
1891–2 -
George Frederic Watts Time, Death and Judgement
1900 -
George Frederic Watts Eve Repentant
c.1865–97 -
George Frederic Watts Eveleen Tennant, later Mrs F.W.H. Myers
exhibited 1880 -
George Frederic Watts Love and Death
c.1885–7