Psyche by Francis Derwent Wood, 1908-19, in the V and A Museum. Wood first displayed the figure as a plaster work at the royal Academy in 1908. Its style is indebted to Italian Renaissance and contemporary French sculpture. Psyche was the goddess of the soul in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Born a mortal woman, her beauty rivalled that of Aphrodite (Venus) and inspired the love of Aphrodite’s son, Eros, god of desire. She is often depicted with butterfly wings.