Focus on this artwork and analyze the Criticism.
There is a handle near one of Psyche's feet as the statue was meant to be able to be revolved on its base. Many of Canova's sculptures had custom built settings or a device that would move the base, thus the handle provided for some of the movement of the statue. This movement emphasizes the emotion and beauty of the sculpture while piquing interest from all angles. Carl Ludwig Fernow, a critic of Canova, complained about the vitality of the embracing figures as there is no singular view from which it should be seen. He stated, "you must run around it, look at it from high and low, up and down, look at it again and keep getting lost". Fernow continued that one's view must have a singular fixed point without the entire piece striking the viewer. Fernow's criticism of Canova's work is a complaint of having to view the sculpture by walking around it rather than from one perspective. Fernow continues, "this effort is somewhat mitigated, for the group perches on a pedestal and can be walked around at will; but the observer strives in vain to find a point of view from which to see both faces together, and in which to reduce each ray of tender expression to one central point of convergence."
Psyche perspective Carl Ludwig Fernow sculpture