"Psyche in Hell" by Eugene Ernest Hillemacher

 The painting Psyche aux enfers was donated to the Melbourne gallery by Esq. Gustave Coursier in 1872. Its author is the French academic artist, master of historical, portrait and genre painting Eugène-Ernest Hillemacher (1818 - 1887). The plot is based on an episode of the legend of the eternal love of Cupid and Psyche.

 Psyche was a mere mortal with a difficult fate: she was strikingly beautiful, her body was perfect. People worshiped her, evil sisters envied her, and men did not try to get the hand of a beauty - she was too good, like a goddess. Aphrodite was offended that the beautiful Psyche was compared with her, and asked her son Cupid to make the girl fall in love with a terrible monster. However, the god of love was fascinated by the beauty of Psyche and did not fulfill his mother's order: instead, he decided to fall in love with the beauty in himself.

 Then Cupid's mother orders Psyche to undergo a series of trials.

 First, Psyche had to sort out a huge pile of grain. The ant colony helped her complete the task.

 Then Aphrodite sent her for the golden fleece of a ferocious ram, which killed quite a few people. The river god helped the beauty: he told how to collect fleece wool that clung to thorny bushes.

  Finally, the goddess sent Psyche to the realm of the dead for a box of beauty from Persephone. The girl appeased Cerberus with pies, and Charon with coins. She completed the task and hurried to Aphrodite. Psyche should not open the box along the way, but after reaching her goal, curiosity gets the best of her, and she looks in, but there was not beauty, but an eternal dream that overcame the girl. But Cupid saved her! The God of love gave Psyche ambrosia to drink and made her immortal. Since then, the happy couple lived in peace and harmony.

 "Psyche in Hell" by Eugene Ernest Hillemacher

 1825 Oil on canvas. Size: 117 × 90 cm. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne