Why is this Sculptor Kissing His Own Statue?

Crossing the line between artist and muse

Christopher P Jones is the author of How to Read Paintings, an introduction to some of the most fascinating artworks in art history.

Detail of ‘Pygmalion and Galatea’ (c. 1890) by Jean-Léon Gérôme. Oil on canvas. 88.9 × 68.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S. Image source The Met (Public domain)

This painting shows a sculptor passionately gripping his own marble creation and kissing it. The lady statue appears to respond: she clasps the sculptor’s hand and leans into the kiss.

With fragments of stone scattered on the floor and the sculptor’s hammer discarded, the statue embraces her creator.

Is this the fantasy of all artists: that their beloved creations come to life and love them back?

More Perfect Than Real Life

Pygmalion and Galatea (c. 1890) by Jean-Léon Gérôme. Oil on canvas. 88.9 × 68.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S. Image source The Met (Public domain)

The moment of coming to life is indeed the theme of this painting. Notice, for instance, how the colour of the marble gradually changes as it rises through the sculpture, from stone-grey to flesh-pink.

The painting is titled Pygmalion and Galatea.

Drawn from ancient myth, Pygmalion was a sculptor from the island of Cyprus. He had an objectionable opinion of the women he saw around him…