California Museum Cupids

Photos left to right: French Porcelain Cupid (1766-1773) by sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet from The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens; French Cupid Among Roses, or Love the Sentinel (1775) by Jean-Honore Fragonard from The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens; Roman Sculpture of Cupid (A.D. 1 – 50) Bronze, silver, copper cupid sculpture at The Getty Villa; Love, the Captive of Youth, sculpture in Rose Gardens at Huntington Library & Gardens (huntington.org).

Are you looking for love? We've come a long way, baby, but when it comes to love, our modern visions of love–facebooking, texting or finding love on Match.com– don't hold a candle to romantic contributions throughout the millennia showing cupid's hand in Roman, Greek and French cultures. Love is timeless as seen in Cupid displays–paintings, sculptures, pottery and vases at California art museums.

Here's one twist on love: The fable of Psyche, derived from a second-century romance by Lucius Apuleius entitled "Metamorphoses" or "The Golden Ass," has inspired many artists. Renowned for her beauty, Psyche had incurred the envy of Venus, who sent Cupid to make her fall in love with a monstrous creature. Instead, Cupid fell in love with Psyche; after she was brought to him they became lovers.

Jean La Fontaine's translation of this tale (shown in photo) is on display in an art piece at The Getty. Venus Reclining on a Sea Monster with Cupid and a Putto (1785-1787) was created in marble by English artist John Deare (getty.edu).

If you're looking for Love, look no further than California's art museums to see depictions of love spanning over 2,000 years, and collected from around the world. Modern interpretations of love such as Cupid's Span (2002), a San Francisco lawn sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen at Rincon Park in The Embarcadero, shows a bow and arrow in wild, bright colors. The modern art has received mixed reviews and many negative comments from art critics. It seems that when it comes to love, people long for romance!