Guided Viewing Worksheet

Visit the State Hermitage Museum, in St. Petersburg, on Google’s Arts & Culture platform. Explore the collection and look at the different works of art on display.

From the collection, select two sculptures and respond to the series of questions provided to explore them in depth.

1. Describe the two works by providing the following information for each.

a. Who is the artist?

Work 1: Antonio Canova
Work 2: Pietro Tenerani

b. What is the title of the work?

Work 1: Cupid and Psyche
Work 2: Psyche in a Faint

c. When was the work created?

Work 1: 1808 according to Google’s Arts & Culture platform (but 1800-1803 according to https://www.hermitagemuseum.org)
Work 2: First half of the 19th century

d. What medium was used (e.g., clay, bronze, marble)?

Work 1: Marble
Work 2: Marble

e. How large is the work? Provide dimensions.

Work 1: height 148 cm, length 63 cm (according to https://www.hermitagemuseum.org)
Work 2: height 112 mm

f. the work representational? Naturalistic? Abstract? Stylized? Nonrepresentational? Give details that demonstrate your answer.

Work 1: This sculpture by Italian artist A. Canova, belonging to Neoclassicism, is a representational work with a theme that might also be defined abstract, because of psychological content and mythological provenance of the story that inspired it. It represents two images, male and female, personified as embodiment of human figure, according to the myth from ancient Greek mythology about the love couple Cupid ('Desire') and Psyche ('Soul' or 'Breath of Life'), that gives title to this sculpture, and is one of the most popular tales since ancient times.

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