Wooden tablet - Love

• size 12 cm x 15 cm x 1.5 cm
• material: wood, gold leaf
• Design inspiration: François Gérard’sCupid and Psyche (1798, Musée du Louvre; image in the public domain)
  

Voglio Bene wooden tablet with the “Love” motif. Based on François Gérard’s painting Cupid and Psyche (1798). Made of wood and finished with gold leaf.

The Story of Psyche and Eros – the motif behind the artwork

The princess Psyche, famed for her beauty, aroused the jealousy of the goddess Aphrodite. Her son Eros was sent to punish Psyche, but instead fell in love with her and carried her off to a mysterious palace. Psyche lived in bliss, until she broke her promise never to look upon her husband’s veiled face. Discovering his identity, she lost him. Eros fled, and Psyche was forced onto a path of trials.

The tasks Aphrodite set her – sorting seeds, fetching golden fleece, drawing water from the Styx, and descending into the underworld – were impossible. Yet, with the help of gods and forces of nature, Psyche overcame them. At last, Eros rescued her, and Zeus granted Psyche immortality so that their union could be fulfilled.

The Original Artwork

The image on the wooden tablet is based on the oil painting Cupid and Psyche (1798) by French painter François Gérard (note: the Greek Eros corresponds to the Roman Cupid). This painting is among the most celebrated neoclassical depictions of love and is today housed in the Louvre, Paris.

Gérard’s work portrays an intimate moment as Eros bends tenderly toward Psyche. The scene distils the core symbolism of the myth: the union of soul (psyche) and love (eros), transcending trials and the limits of time.

Symbolism

• Psyche in Greek also means “soul.”
• Eros/Cupid represents the power of love, which unites the mortal and the divine.
• The story symbolises the soul’s journey through trials towards unity and a higher state of being.
  

The Four Tasks of Psyche

Sorting the seeds

Represents the ability to discern and organise inner multiplicity. Human thoughts, desires, and impulses are as jumbled as a heap of seeds. Ants help – symbolising the “small forces” of the unconscious that support the soul when it cannot manage alone. Spiritually, this is the practice of discernment (diakrisis): recognising what truly belongs to oneself.

Fetching the golden fleece

The shimmering fleece is guarded by dangerous rams. It symbolises gaining strength and vitality, but at the right time and in the right way – not by force, but with patience and wisdom (the reed advises Psyche to wait until the rams leave). This speaks to the encounter with untamed instincts: their energy is not destroyed, but carefully gathered for proper use.

Drawing water from the Styx

The Styx, river of the underworld, is sacred and fiercely guarded. Psyche must bring back a drop of its water. An eagle assists – representing divine perspective. Symbolically, this is the confrontation with death’s reality without being destroyed: an understanding of limits, power, and eternity.

The journey to Persephone in the underworld

The most difficult task: descent into Hades while preserving the thread of life. Persephone gives Psyche a box of “beauty balm,” but opening it brings on the sleep of death. Symbolically, this is the soul’s descent into shadow: confronting death, the unconscious, and temptation. Death’s sleep, and the awakening kiss of Eros, show that only through love can the soul return to life.

Summary of the Symbolism

Psyche’s tasks are not merely trials but a schooling of the soul:

• Discernment – organising the inner chaos (seeds).
• Mastery of drives and instincts – harnessing energy in the right way (golden fleece).
• Acceptance of mortality – facing the reality of death (Styx).
• Confrontation with shadow – descent to the underworld (Persephone).

Ultimately, it is Eros – the power of love – who revives Psyche and gives meaning to her ordeals. The resolution, where Psyche attains immortality and their daughter Voluptas (“Pleasure, Joy”) is born, symbolises the fruit of the soul’s union with love: joy and fulfilment.

The image of Psyche and Eros conveys a message of love that, through trials, becomes lasting and divine. It is a reminder of the importance of trust and courage – and that the deepest meaning of human existence lies in the union of soul and love.