Cupid And Psyche : An Unsettling And Awkward Version Of The Myth

Mythology is something that has always gone hand in hand with human development, so it must be addressed in relation to the human psychology as well as the impact that human culture has on an individual’s psychology. In order to interpret mythology accurately, a variety of psychological approaches must be used in order to guarantee an adequate understanding of the material. The most useful approaches originate from the schools of thought initiated by Sigmund Freud and Caldwell’s work in theoretical psychology, and they are very helpful when used to interpret Hesiod’s myths The Sacred Marriage of Uranus and Gaia and Their Offspring/The Castration of Uranus and the Birth of Aphrodite (M&L, p64-66, 72-73)

The art piece created by Claude Vignon , “David with the Head of Goliath” has three important elements that are vital towards the piece in order to portray a message of power and authority. Which are the focal point, proportions, and the contrast of this particular piece. The artwork is oil on canvas that was made around in 1593-1670. The subject matter of the artwork is depicting the moment of pride David had with the head of the giant Goliath being laid next to his small body. The portrait of David is seen on the viewers middle left side, while the head of Goliath is in the middle right side next to David’s. David is seen wearing clothes that appear to be a size to big on him, to the point where the shirt is slipping from his shoulder (exposing his left shoulder). The clothes themselves are interpreted as royal clothing, having a big headpiece located in the top half of the painting. With the exposed shoulder being leaned forward on, in his left hand David holds a silver sword that is seen to to take

Another significantly important artist of the Italian renaissance who expresses the ideals of humanism is Michelangelo Buonarroti in his piece "The David". The giant 17-feet tall sculpture, or contrapposto of David initially started by another artist who was biblically intended to represent a young shepherd who defended the city from the Goliath. However, abandoned and later rescued by Michelangelo, the sculpture's message innovated to represent the strength and divinity of the man. "The Renaissance ideals of humanism were expressed in the physical and psychological balance of the piece." (en.wikipedia.org) The art piece of David shows the physical strength of a man somehow by exaggerating some features such as the hands. However, his face shows divinity and dignity of humanity, "Michelangelo captures the human emotions of confidence, determination, and hope in the face of David." (en.wikipedia.org) He demonstrates his own view of the human form, "Michelangelo's David seems to encapsulate his dualistic view, that however noble the human body may be, it

     C.S. Lewis’s book Till We Have Faces is about the myth of Psyche and Cupid. However, in the original tale Psyche is a very naive girl who is greatly influenced by her two wicked older sisters. In this rendition of the tale, Psyche’s sisters are not evil and Psyche is not a mindless fool as she has been portrayed in earlier tales.

Greek art, especially sculpture, was a common way to explore and reach past the confines of mankind’s natural appearance be it through penises, huge muscles, or generalized unrealistic body standards. Hercules and the Hydra, a sculpture by Mathias Gasteiger, presents an image of masculinity through the expressive posture and form of Hercules once you look past those gleaming bronze pectorals, and into the intricate details of the piece.

The Cupid Chastised painting was made in 1613 in the early Italian Baroque era by Bartolomeo Manfredi. The painting is 69 x 51 3/8 inches, and painted with Oil paints on canvas. While staring at this painting you can see that with each brushstroke that was made you can see that this painting was an obviously inspired from Caravaggio’s work. Caravaggio's style of painting is very recognizable for its realism, intense chiaroscuro and has the effect that makes you feel as if you are a part of the scenery. Most of Manfredi’s painting has as the Caravaggio's style to help his paintings to have more dramatic action. In the Italian Baroque era there were many followers of Caravaggio, called the Caravaggisti; Caravaggio influenced his follower by having

Michelangelo’s creation is his interpretation of the biblical figure of David. “The brave David stands in a tense manner, with one leg relaxed while the other holds its total body weight. Hence, this causes his shoulders and hips to rest at an opposite angle. Moreover, David’s head turns towards his left, and he is carrying a sling at his back. With all these features, many people regard the sculpture as a symbol of youthful beauty and human strength (History).” “Michelangelo’s hero is at rest, in a moment of calm anticipation before confronting Goliath (Sayre, 327).” The lack of movement and straight posture shows balance and clarity within the sculpture, which is why most people would consider this piece of art work ethos. “In contrast, Bernini’s sculpture captures the young hero in the midst of action. David’s body twists in an elaborate spiral, creating dramatic contrasts of light and shadow. His teeth are clenched, and his muscles strain as he prepares to launch the fatal rock (Sayre, 327).” Bernini’s David uses the characteristic of emotion and motion to label his sculpture as pathos. “Bernini’s David uses the space around it – reaching out into the space of

Although Michelangelo 's David embodies the athletic ideal of antiquity in its muscularity, here the male nude implies, as it had in classical antiquity, heroic or even divine qualities. David also represents the power of right over might.

Palomon says, " The Beauty of the lady whom I see wandering yonder in the garden

In the world of Ancient Greece, a large array of deities were worshipped. Each god had their own forms of identification in which they used to express themselves. This includes things such as personality, style, sexuality, and many other things. One of these forms of expression was gender. The Greeks seemed to focus more on the two typical genders, which are male and female. Some Greek gods seemed to play into certain gender roles, but others portrayed traits of the opposite sex. In this paper, I will be analysing the possibility that the Greeks believed the female and male genders were closely connected and that is why many of the gods are described with blended aspects of gender.

Claude Vignon’s work called David with the Head of Goliath, is an interpretation of the artist Caravaggio’s original masterpiece, which shows art’s familiar paradigm, every painter paints himself. His motivation for creating this piece was from visiting rome in 1610, he was influenced by Caravaggism, which was art inspired in the style of Caravaggio. “Some art historians regard him as a precursor of Rembrandt.” Painted circa 1620-1623, it is an oil on canvas, made in Paris, France, 133.7 cm x 98 cm (52 5/8 in. x 38 9/16 in.). “Vignon was a French painter, printmaker and illustrator, and, in 1623, was one of the most respected, productive, and successful artists in France, in which his patrons were king Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu.” He was born into a wealthy family and started art lessons when he was a young boy. A theme could be religious rebellion against others who were seen as powerful such as Goliath, and were not fit to be in power.

Unlike the David of Donatello, Michelangelo's David is not shown after conquering his enemy. Instead, he is portrayed as an extremely athletic and manly character; the sculpture even depicts a worried look cast upon David's face and the carved marble veins seem to pulse with anticipation as he contemplates the upcoming fight. Cast over David's shoulder is his sling, and the stone is clutched in his right hand. Michelangelo's David depicts the ideal youth who has just reached manhood and is capable of great physical and intellectual feats, which is part of the classical tradition. Michelangelo's David portrays one man in a very powerful and intelligent light, and even hinting that this one man may be some

The famous quote “I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil” by Albert Einstein. This quote has a lot to do with both short stories Cupid and Psyche and “Ashputtle”. Each story was related to how the villains were extremely cruel to the main characters. The evil relatives made them go through difficult tasks that they shouldn’t have to face alone but did. The girls both had to face the same things, but in different stories and had their happy ever after at the end. But toward the end of the stories there were some differences on the two of how each evil relatives got punished. Both stories refect on how good is rewarded and evil is punished

Throughout history, specifically in ancient Rome and Greece, people admired painting to the point where it was taught to every son of respectable families, yet forbidden to the slaves. This goes to show how this form of art in particular was considered fit only to those of high social class. Although it was reserved for the educated and cultured, painting attracted everyone and pleased them equally. In particular, “[n]ature herself delights in painting.”(Alberti 64) Alberti persists in showing us how painting is of nature; he first references nature by saying that Narcissus was the inventor of painting. In the myth of Narcissus, nature plays the role of the artist who paints a portrait so beautiful that Narcissus cannot take his eyes off of it. To further convince the reader of the pleasures painting gives, the author recounts a personal anecdote of how gratifying and relaxing painting can be.

Jacques-Louis David was a Neo-classical artist in 18th Century France. He painted in this serious style as a direct reaction against the accepted Rococo art era. Whilst the Rococo era was shallow and frivolous in subject matter (see The Swing, right), David’s paintings focused strongly on ideas of sacrifice and duty. But why would he work in this way? It was because David had a clear purpose for his art. He was a strong Republican who longed for the day when France would overthrow the gluttonous,