\paperw19995 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 The beautiful Psyche, who is so described by the Latin writer Apuleius in his fable \i The Golden Ass\i0 , deposits a butter
fly in her beloved ErosÆ palm.\par
As the butterfly is a symbol of the soul, the sculpture may be alluding to the innocence of love.\par
The group is remarkable due to the extremely delicate way in which the marble has been sculpted, to give it the app
arent softness of flesh. The tapering and slightly arched fingers make the figures graceful, as do the finely modeled curls that cover PsycheÆs head and cascade onto ErosÆ shoulders.\par
The drapery, which is barely perceptible and falls in fine folds r
esembling the veins of a leaf, serves to enhance the refined sensuality of the two lovers.\par
The group û originally in the collection of NapoleonÆs wife, Josephine Beauharnais û was acquired by Tsar Alexander I in 1815, and was placed in the Winter Pa
