A series of five oil paintings by French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau that were inspired by the myth of Cupid and Psyche.
Psyche was a beautiful princess of whom the goddess Venus is jealous. In her rage, she orders her son Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with a monster, but Cupid falls in love with her himself. After several trials, Cupid and Psyche make their plea to the gods who turn Psyche into an immortal and allow them to be married in heaven.
- "Psyche and Love" (1889): Psyche hangs from Love's (aka Cupid) arm as they fly through a cloudy sky. It's nearly identical to his later "The Rapture of Psyche", just with the lovers' positions mirror-flipped and the emotions more idealized.
- "Cupid and Psyche as Children" (1890): Cupid and Psyche as a pair of toddlers sharing an embrace and a kiss. Recognized by the frothy background the figures delicately stand on. It depicts the beginning of the forbidden romance of Cupid and Psyche.
- "Psyche" (1892): A portrait of Psyche previous to her apotheosis, which is signified by the fact she's fully clothed. She's sitting, looking upward, and holding her hands together over her chest.
- "The Rapture of Psyche" (1895): Psyche and Cupid, now young adults, soar through the air in a romantic embrace as Psyche ascends to goddesshood. Psyche looks ecstatic while Cupid seems to be looking forward to the future.
- "Love and Psyche" (1899): A re-painting of "Psyche and Love" but with Psyche having her back turned and holding hands with Cupid. The clouds are fluffier and more defined, thus fitting in better with the collection's visual motifs.
Other than the common theme, all the paintings share at least one of the following motifs: the lovers' wings, the presence of blue/purple drapes, and the sky adorned by fluffy clouds.
Tropes:
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In general
- Butterfly of Transformation: In both "Cupid and Psyche as Children" and "The Rapture of Psyche", Psyche is characterized as possessing moth wings to represent her metamorphosing into a goddess, as though emerging from a chrysalis.
- Deity Fiction: The paintings are inspired by the myth of Cupid And Psyche. Respectively, a Love God and a Deity of Human Origin.
- Flight of Romance: Is there anything more romantic than leaning on the shoulder of your beloved, as they carry you through the parting clouds? Psyche certainly seems to be taken by the experience in "The Rapture of Psyche" and "Psyche and Love".
- Fluffy Cloud Heaven: In "Cupid and Psyche as Children", "Psyche and Love", and "The Rapture of Psyche", the title characters are in the Heavens together and all we can see is a relaxing landscape of white clouds.
- Love Goddess: Or Love God, as is the case with Cupid.
- Modesty Bedsheet: In "The Rapture of Psyche", there's a purple shroud that covers Cupid and Psyche's respective genitalia. In "Love and Psyche", since Psyche has her back turned, the blue drape is only necessary for Cupid. Likewise, "Psyche and Love" only has Cupid's groin covered by a blue cloth, with Psyche's white one hanging from her arm but leaving her exposed.
- Name and Name: "Cupid and Psyche as Children" and "Psyche and Love".
- Our Angels Are Different: "The Rapture of Psyche" and "Psyche and Love" are uncommon depictions of Cupid as a winged young man rather than a boy or child.
- Winged Humanoid: Cupid is given fluffy white wings befitting a Christian angel in this romantic ode to the love he bore for Psyche, who gets a pair of (comparatively smaller) butterfly wings.
"Psyche and Love"
"Psyche and Love" (French: "Psyché et L'Amour")
"Cupid and Psyche as Children"
"Cupid and Psyche as Children" (French: "L'Amour et Psyché, enfants")
- First Kiss: "Cupid and Psyche as Children" has been mistakenly called "The First Kiss", implying that this is what it depicts. It is even used as the page image for the trope itself.
- Our Nudity Is Different: "Cupid and Psyche as Children" has imagery indicative of putti art (and artistic depictions of Classical Mythology in general) as all characters involved are completely naked.
- Puppy Love: "Cupid and Psyche as Children" captures the beginning of the title character's romantic love. They are both toddlers.
- Putto: Both Psyche and Cupid are depicted as naked, winged toddlers in "Cupid and Psyche as Children".
"Psyche"
"Psyche" (French: "Psyché")
- One-Word Title: "Psyche"
- Uniformity Exception: All paintings in the series but this one depicts Psyche and Cupid together and nude. "Psyche" features only the titular character, and she's fully robed to boot. The reason is that it is chronologically set before the other pieces—Psyche has not yet ascended to goddess status nor has met Cupid, which is relevant because nakedness was reserved for preternatural beings only during the Academic Art period.
"The Rapture of Psyche"
"The Rapture of Psyche" (French: "Le Ravissement de Psyché")
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: "The Rapture of Psyche" depicts the moment Cupid takes Psyche up into the heavens to join him as a god.
- Hand-or-Object Underwear: In "The Rapture of Psyche", Psyche is so overjoyed by Cupid's embrace that she braces herself, which also serves to cover her breasts.
- Happily Ever After: "The Rapture of Psyche" is set at the end of the myth where Psyche is brought to the Heavens to marry Cupid. Despite the painting's alternate title, "The Abduction of Psyche", the look on her face shows that she is into it.
- The X of Y: "The Rapture of Psyche".
"Love and Psyche"
"Love and Psyche" (French: "L'Amour et Psyché")
