Emil Hannover, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of C. W. Eckersberg, 1898, no. 71.

Exhibited: Kunstforeningen, “Udstillingen af C. W. Eckersbergs Malerier”, 1895 no. 46. Charlottenborg: “Sønderjysk Kunstudstilling ”, 1937 no. 78.

Literature: Emil Hannover, “Maleren C.W. Eckersberg. En studie i dansk kunsthistorie” (The Painter Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. A Study in Danish Art History), 1898, mentioned p. 34, where Hannover highlights Nicolai Abildgaard’s (1743–1809) influence on Eckersberg in the latter’s early paintings both in terms of choice of motifs and painting style. Hannover writes the following (in Danish): “It is, among many other traits, an example of Abildgaard’s influence in the works that now followed, when Eckersberg with predilection began to paint the naked human figure, in which the late master had found ample opportunity to excel with his anatomical teachings, and which at any rate he had never had to cover with the false draperies out of necessity. The subjects of these works also belonged for the most part to Abildgaard’s world of ideas”. Abildgaard's influence on Eckersberg is evident when the present work is compared with “Amor og Psyke omfavner hinanden” (Cupid and Psyche embrace each other) by Abildgaard (The Nivaagaard Collection, Inv. No. 0183 NMK 2000–1).

Peter Michael Hornung and Kasper Monrad, “C.W. Eckersberg - dansk malerkunsts fader” (C. W. Eckersberg – the Father of Danish Painting), the publishing house Palle Fogtdal, 2005, mentioned p. 62 and ill. p. 63.

Provenance: Art dealer C. L. Foltmar (1895). Director Holger Hirschsprung. Winkel & Magnussen auction 292, 1942 no. 8. The art historian Hans Edvard Nørregård-Nielsen (1945–2023). The story of Cupid and Psyche was extremely popular around the year 1800. Before Eckersberg, both Nicolai Abildgaard and Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) depicted various episodes from the story. Eckersberg has here chosen the moment when Psyche – having broken her promise to Cupid not to see him – has awakened the sleeping lover with a drop of hot oil from her lamp and now wants to prevent him from escaping". Quote from the above-mentioned book p. 62.

On the international art scene, the sculptor Antonio Canova's (1757–1822) “Psyche Brought to Life by Cupid's Kiss” can be highlighted, commissioned in 1787, executed in 1793 and today located at the Louvre in Paris. The sculpture is considered a masterpiece of Neoclassical art.