The Rape of Proserpina and Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss
Germaine Fahie
FAS 202: Introduction to Humanities II
Julianne Poncet
February 19, 2015
The purpose of this essay is to evaluate two art pieces that were created by two tremendously gifted individuals during the Baroque to the contemporary period. Masters of their movements, both sculptors were able to create masterpieces that revealed an unfolding event that could be read by their viewers from all sides.
The first piece of art to be reviewed is the The Rape of Persopina (1621-22), also known as The Rape of Persephone, which is a large marble sculpture, 255cm in height, which was crafted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, at age 23, during the Baroque movement. As with many of his early works of art, this statue was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, and was executed, between 1621 and 1622 (Rape of Persephone). Scipione gave this masterpiece to Cardinal Ludovisi in 1622, and it was transported to his villa where it remained until 1908. It was then purchased by the Italian State and returned to the Borghese Collection and can be seen at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy (Rape of Proserpina).
The second piece to be reviewed will be Psyche Revived by Cupid 's Kiss (1787) also known as Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova. Colonel John Campbell first commissioned this sculpture in 1787, during the Neoclassicism movement. This statue represents the god Cupid in the height of love and tenderness after he had awakened the lifeless Psyche with nothing more than a kiss. This great work of art, which measures 155cm in height, can be seen at the Louvre in Paris, France (Cupid and Psyche). The Baroque era refers to the artistic style during the 17th and 18th century that employed the classical forms of the Renaissance, but used them in a more dramatic and emotional way (MindEdge 2.04). These classical forms were the way in which the Renaissance period
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