Psyche Transported and Discovering Cupid's Palace 1697

Luca Giordano painted ‘Psyche Transported and Discovering Cupid's Palace’ in oil paint, a common medium at the time. The canvas is built up of thin layers of pigment mixed with oil, a process demanding considerable time, studio space, and skilled labor, particularly in preparing the supports and grinding the pigments. Look closely, and you'll see how Giordano uses the fluidity of the paint to create a sense of ethereal movement, and the translucence of the glazes to give the figures a luminous quality. Giordano also employs a painterly approach, with visible brushstrokes that add texture and depth to the composition. This was a deliberate choice, moving away from the highly polished, smooth surfaces of earlier academic painting. It's a technique that requires confidence and mastery over the material, allowing the artist to capture the fleeting beauty of the scene with immediacy. Considering the labor and resources involved, it is evident that paintings like these reflect the social and economic structures of their time, underscoring the value placed on skill and artistic vision.