The Story of Psyche: panel 3. Psyche Discovers that Her Mysterious Lover is Eros 1908

Maurice Denis painted this scene from the story of Psyche at the end of the nineteenth century, probably using oil on canvas. Look at Psyche holding the lamp, about to discover the true identity of her lover. I wonder what Denis was thinking as he painted it. Did he see himself in Psyche? Or maybe in the sleeping Eros? The color palette is restrained. Light and shadow dance across the surface. A kind of muted luminescence radiates from the scene. Denis's work reminds me a little of Puvis de Chavannes's murals. There's a similar dreamlike quality and a simplification of form, it's like he's trying to capture a mood more than anything else. I imagine him carefully building up the layers of paint, trying to evoke the mysteries of love and identity. It's as if he's inviting us to contemplate the ambiguities of desire. We are left to contemplate the mysteries of love and identity, something many artists attempt.