Psyche

Copied Hiram Powers, Psyche, modeled 1848, plaster, 25 1⁄8 x 17 1⁄8 x 9 3⁄4 in. (63.8 x 43.6 x 24.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson, 1968.155.86
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Psyche
Artist
Date
modeled 1848
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
25 1⁄8 x 17 1⁄8 x 9 3⁄4 in. (63.8 x 43.6 x 24.7 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase in memory of Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
plaster
Classifications
Subjects
  • Study — sculpture model
  • Mythology — classical — Psyche
Object Number
1968.155.86
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1968.155.86

Artwork Description

According to Greek mythology, Psyche was a beautiful maiden who fell in love with Cupid. Cupid's mother, Aphrodite, was jealous of Psyche's beauty and tried to keep the lovers apart. Eventually, however, Aphrodite realized that Cupid and Psyche were destined to be together and so she made Psyche immortal. Psyche is also the Greek word for "soul" and "butterfly." In his sculpture, Hiram Powers portrays Psyche as a young woman with delicate facial features and a butterfly in her curling hair, a symbol of her transformation into womanhood. The sculpture was commissioned in 1848 by wealthy Boston merchant Ignatius Sargent, who had purchased several sculptures from Powers. Over the next fifteen years, Powers made nine marble and three plaster copies of this ideal figure.