A man lies
horizontally on top of a green and yellow satin bedspread, supporting himself
on his elbows. He is naked, save the
vibrantly colored wings that decorate his backside. One of his arms sits atop an elegant circular
pillow, which is portrayed in shades of green and yellow to match the bed he is
draped across. His other arm rests on a
bouquet of white and red flowers, which are matched by those in the vase on the
bedside table. The vase has been
carefully positioned in front of the man so as not to overexpose his body. His gaze is cast downwards. He neither smiles nor frowns, and I cannot
help but think that his rosy cheeks, curled tufts of strawberry blonde hair,
and his apparent bashfulness cause him to appear somewhat childlike, despite
his being a grown man with well-defined physique.
A woman
stands above him on the same bed, looking down with a small smile on her
face. In her left hand, she holds a
lighted wooden candle directly over her partner’s head. In her right hand, which rests by her side,
she clutches a small silver sword. A
wooden arrow lies on the bed beneath her foot.
Delicate white and red flowers decorate her headpiece, and a sash of
gold and silver is tied around her otherwise nude body. It is unclear if her position implies that
she is going to hurt this man or make love to him. Whatever the case may be, she is clearly in a
position of power over him, emphasized by the fact that he seems too timid to
meet her gaze.
A thick
canopy of red fabric surrounds the bed that the couple is portrayed on. The color dominates the background as if to
compensate for the body parts that are not present in this scene. It matches the red bedside table that is
positioned next to the bed. A crossbow
and satchel full of wooden arrows sit atop the table. A small brown, black, and white dog is curled
up beside what appears to be the man’s discarded weaponry, and stares out
intently with one eye. The arrow beneath
the woman’s foot, her powerful stance, and the fact that this man lies beneath
her without any sort of means to defend himself shows that he is clearly
subordinate to her. The man’s wings and
weaponry imply that he has been endowed with some sort of mythological power;
the fact that this woman is mortal and clearly still dominant and makes for an
even more striking depiction of the desire between them.
Painting: Amore e
Psiche
Painter: Jacopo Zucchi
Date: 1589
Location: Villa Borghese Museum
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