18th-century Louis XVI Trumeau With Allegorical Painting Depicting Greco-roman Mythology

Louis XVI trumeau in gilded wood with a beaded frame.
Allegorical painting.
Oil on canvas, previously re-stretched.
Lower section: mercury mirror
Upper section: scene from Greco-Roman mythology (Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*, Apuleius’s *The Golden Ass*).
The painter seems to have sought to depict a pivotal moment in the love story of Cupid (Eros) and Psyche.
Cupid, on the right side of the canvas, is about to shoot an arrow at Psyche, obeying the orders of his mother Venus (Aphrodite), who, jealous of Psyche’s extraordinary beauty, intends to take revenge by making her fall in love with a mere mortal.
Psyche, situated on the right side of the canvas, is depicted with her large “butterfly” wings; she seems unaware of Cupid’s presence, despite the quiver at her feet.
We witness the first romantic encounter between Psyche and Cupid here, as Venus’s plan for revenge is doomed to fail: Cupid, acting clumsily, accidentally wounds himself with his own arrow, causing him to fall madly in love with the beautiful Psyche.
The moral of this story is that, despite Venus’s jealousy and hatred—which sought to prevent Psyche from being happy and condemn her to a life of solitude and lovelessness—Love always triumphs. 

Condition: generally good condition, with a few minor flaws in the frame.
Dimensions: 162 x 80 x 2.5 cm