143 cm × 105 cm (56 in × 41 in)
Wikimedia Commons
Psyche Entering Cupid’s Garden is an oil painting in the Pre-RaphaeliteGroup of English artists formed in 1848 to counter what they saw as the corrupting influence of the late-Renaissance painter Raphael. style by John William WaterhouseEnglish artist known primarily for his depictions of women set in scenes from myth, legend or poetry. He is the best known of that group of artists who from the 1880s revived the literary themes favoured by the Pre-Raphaelites. (1849–1917), painted in 1903.[1] Like many of Waterhouses’s later works, the picture contains only a single figure, almost invariably female.[2]
In Roman mythology, Cupid was sent by his jealous mother, the goddess Venus, to punish Psyche for her beauty, but instead he fell in love with her. To keep his identity secret, he would only meet her after dark. The painting depicts Psyche attempting to catch a glimpse of her secretive lover in daylight.[1]
The garden represents Cupid’s domain, and the rose Psyche holds in her left hand symbolises love and beauty.[3]
The painting is now in the collection of the Harris Museum & Art Gallery in Preston, Lancashire.[1]