Travel as a Strike fan: The things you notice.

 I am just back from a fantastic trip to Germany and Denmark, with day trips into the Czech Republic and Sweden. When you take a trip like that after months of immersion in the latest Strike book, it can't help but color your perspective. At the Gemaldegalerie in Berlin, for instance, two paintings jumped out at me. 

The first is this Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, by Pompeo Girolama Batoni. A few interesting facts to note: 

• Psyche's face is modeled after Batoni's wife, said to be one of the most beautiful women in Rome.
• That is Venus assisting her son in placing the ring on Psyche's finger, while Hymen, the god of marriage supports Psyche. 
• Zephyr, the west wind who orginally carried Psyche to Cupid, is blowing a blast of air on the happy couple. 
• All the gods are positioned on clouds, while the mortal Psyche stands on the floor. 

What struck me was the fact that this is one of the few depictions of the marriage I have seen that shows Cupid as a child, the way he is often depicted when alone. Not only do they appear to have the opposite age issue that Strike and Robin have, Psyche appears to be drifting dangerously close to Tim Ashcroft territory. Compare Batoni's painting to the one Galbraith tweeted.