Psyche walks past the Fates undeterred

Psyche Walks Past the Fates Undeterred from 1780 depicts an episode from Apuleius’ tale of Cupid and Psyche, showing the heroine’s courageous passage through the underworld. Fuseli’s treatment of this classical subject emphasizes the psychological drama of the encounter between mortal determination and supernatural power. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays Michelangelesque muscular figures in extremis, supernatural and nightmare subjects, violent foreshortening, dark Gothic atmosphere, theatrical excess.

Fuseli renders the scene with characteristic dramatic contrasts. The figure of Psyche is shown with the artist’s typical combination of classical form and Romantic intensity.