The Awakening Kiss
I keep going back to this corner of the Lourve in Paris to marvel at Italian Antonio CANOVA's 1796 sculpture "The Awakening Kiss." This amazing sculpture was done from a single piece of white marble depicting Cupid and Psyche. The short version of the story is that Cupid's mother, Venus, the Goddess of Love, was jealous of mortal Pysche's beauty and sent Cupid to harass her. Instead, he pricked himself with one of his arrows and fell in love with Psyche. In retribution, vain and angry Venus cast a spell over Psyche and she fell into a deep sleep. At some point, Cupid kissed the sleeping Psyche and broke the spell. You'll find it no surprise that this formed the storyline for "Sleeping Beauty."