Venus Showing Psyche to Amor

Klinger was a significant figure in fin-de-siècle Germany and was especially lauded for his print cycles. This plate, depicting an episode from the story of Cupid and Psyche, was part of a series of book illustrations for Apuleius’s narrative. In this vignette, Klinger depicts the moment when Venus, envious of Psyche’s beauty, points her out to her son Cupid, asking him to exact revenge. Instead, Cupid falls in love with Psyche and, after much turmoil, they marry. Rather than show the lovely Psyche, Klinger focuses on the moment when Venus’s plan is thwarted and Cupid, with his wings outstretched, lays eyes on his future wife. Giving form to such intangible abstract concepts as love, despair, and betrayal is a major theme in Klinger’s work, putting him in company with many of his Symbolist contemporaries.