ALBERT-ERNEST CARRIER-BELLEUSE | PSYCHE AND THE SLEEPING CUPID

Another version of the present bronze is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (museum no. 1974.82), catalogued as conceived circa 1870. The bronze shows the suspenseful moment in the story of Cupid and Psyche, in which Psyche, who has been married to Cupid without knowing his identity, walks into the bedroom where he is sleeping in order to see his face. The story of Cupid and Psyche, originally from Apuleius' Metamorphoses or The Golden Ass, has been a well-loved iconography throughout the history of art. In the present bronze, Carrier Belleuse focuses on the erotic vulnerability of Cupid, who lies sleeping and exposed.