Pygmalion and Galatea (Symbolism and Allegory)

This image is one from the collection of Jean-Léon Gérôme, Pygmalion and Galatea. At the initial glance you would see what you think is a man "making out" with a statue; but a closer observation you can see the slight color change in the top portion of the statue as more of a "real" skin tone as opposed to the legs and feet symbolizing the change from statue to human. More of the surroundings also provide more detail into telling the story. Looking on the floor/ground a hammer can be seen with chips from the statue showing that It has recently been worked on, as well as pointing out that he must be a sculpture and this must be a workshop. The clothing in this painting tells the time period; along with the shield and other sculptures in the background. The cherub can also symbolize love, but with knowing the story of Pygmalion and Galatea we know that this represents more. The cherub represents the son of Aphrodite who was sent to give live to Galatea. Most of all we can see in this painting that its not just a man kissing a statue. It’s a man that has created, by his own hand, his perfect woman and she is shown during the transformation from mere sculpture to a "real" animated individual. With knowing the story we can also imagine the joy and passion he feels for her after realizing that she has been brought to life and now he is able to have her and make her his wife. In my opinion this painting has some symbolism, but it's definitely more of an allegory because of the deeper story all of those symbols reference.

For those who are not aware:
The story of Pygmalion and Galatea is about the artist Pygmalion who fell in love with his sculpture of the perfect woman. I had learned about this story in high school and really like it. Jean-Léon Gérôme painted and sculpted variations on the Pygmalion and Galatea theme(The Metropolitan Museum of Art), so upon having this opportunity, I decided to find the best representation of this story for this assignment.
Pygmalion was disgusted by the loose women with loose morals that surrounded him, so he decided to sculpt the perfect woman out of Ivory. In his opinion, this way, she could not talk or move. Eventually he fell in love with the sculpture and name it Galatea, meaning "milk white" (notice the bottom of the legs in comparison to the top half of the body). During a festival of Aphrodite Pygmalion prayed for a wife like his Galatea, but Aphrodite knew what he really wanted and send her son Eros who kissed the had of Galatea and made her human. Pygmalion returned to find the, now human, Galatea. They were wed and lived together from then on.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art- European Paintings. Metmuseum.org. http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436483?rpp=30&pg=1&rndkey=20150114&ft=*&who=G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me%2c+Jean-L%C3%A9on%24Jean-L%C3%A9on+G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me&pos=9