vulnerable

Cupid and Psyche by François Gérard

I think there's just something so tender about this painting. Tender and awkard really. I won't explain the whole story. Only the relevant parts. the parts that I like.

Cupid is kissing Psyche - their first kiss. only she can't see him - he's invisible to her. That's why she's not looking at him. It seems so bizarre. To be getting kissed and not being aware of it. I mean, it's a first kiss! I want her to be able to see. To know of this wonderful occasion. Of this tender exchange. I want her to feel the excitement.

But more than all of that. Just look at their poses. At her pose. It's so vulnerable. Just look at the drapery. They would paint drapery like this to heighten, not hide, women's nakedness. And to be naked is to be vulnerable. I mean, girls don't just take their clothes off in front of anyone (well, some girls do, and they're called hookers). And the way her arms are placed across her body. Like she's trying to protect herself. Attempting the impossible really. Because to love - to be loved - is to be vulnerable.

But he's there. To embrace her. To offer a tender kiss of comfort. Of love. He doesn't want to hurt her. Just love her. And the beauty is that all of this is going on, and she can't see it. But in her eyes. Look in her eyes. I feel like she knows on some level. Of what she is recieving. Because to me, she looks scared. Scared and vulnerable. Because she doesn't know what's going to happen. Not just with the kiss, but with everything. About what comes next.

I feel like her pose is every girl's pose. She is every girl. Scared. Vulnerable. In need of protection. Wanting to be loved but worried about getting hurt. I love Cupid's pose. So sure. He's everything she's not. He's confident. Not afraid. There with open arms. He's not every guy. But he's the guy every girl needs. She's scared, but behind that fear is willingness. and hope.

To fall in love is one thing. The rest becomes, well, complicated. But this moment. It's before the complication. It's the beginning.