Psyke prøver Amors pil 1841

Curator: "Psyke prøver Amors pil," or Psyche Testing Cupid's Arrow, created around 1841 by L.A. Smith. It's currently residing at the SMK, the Statens Museum for Kunst. It appears to be an engraving, a type of printmaking... what's your initial feeling when you see it? Editor: Oh, it feels... tentative. Almost melancholic. It’s so delicate, the lines barely there. Curator: Exactly! The delicate lines define form, the whole composition balanced. I’d call this drawing firmly in the camp of classical realism blended with some very romantic sensibilities, especially how it engages the viewer in Psyche’s introspection. Note how the clean strokes and use of light really place this within an academic art tradition. Editor: Introspection is key, you're right. It's like she’s doubting. Testing Cupid’s arrow is so charged... you would expect a forceful approach! But she holds it with such fragility. Is she questioning love itself, her feelings...everything? What do you think Smith intended us to read in this pose? Curator: I’d wager it is about vulnerability before the emotional stakes and how to approach difficult truths with cautious curiosity. The fact that Psyche isn’t even looking at the arrow... that is incredible! It allows the whole engraving to breathe and consider not just Cupid's tools, but love itself. Her tentative contact emphasizes that choice. What is love if not a testing of what will be? Editor: Absolutely, and the medium too reinforces this. It could be that there is this inherent uncertainty through print. It could also reflect on something more. I keep looking at those wings. It gives flight to some sort of internal conversation. It doesn't strike you how...human, vulnerable and contemplative, Psyke is made? Curator: She certainly isn’t some grand, untouchable goddess here. Smith presents a woman at the nexus of love and knowledge... Editor: Yes! Well, I find her honesty, despite being mythologized and distanced in the old engravings, rather wonderful, almost... strangely touching in this historical setting! It strikes a very modern and refreshing stance! Curator: And to think we can see it here, all these centuries later... Thank you so much! It never stops giving.