Pompeo Batoni - The Marriage of Eros and Psyche (1756)
"Apuleius' tale is the earliest extant forerunner of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale in Western literature, and a founding myth of sexual difference. It includes episodes the fairy tale 'La Belle et la bête' has made famous, from children's versions to films: the mysterious menacing lover, the jealous sisters, the enchanted castle where disembodied voices serve every wish and 'nectarous wines and appetising dishes appeared by magic, floating up to her of their own accord.' It echoes stories of Pandora and Eve when it relies on female curiosity as the dynamic of the plot, and the overriding motive force of the female sex. Punished for her disobedience, Psyche then has to prove her love through many adventures and ordeals; pregnant by Cupid, she struggles through one test of her loyalty after another until, finally, this Beauty is reunited with her Beast and adapts him, the god of Love, to the human condition of marriage, and they have a daughter, called Voluptas - Pleasure."
From The Beast to the Blonde by Marina Warner
