The term Pygmalion refers to the name of a Cypriot sculptor and king of Cyprus in a legend who carved a maiden's ivory statue and fell in love with it. He named it Galatea and prayed to Aphrodite (in Roman Venus), goddess of love, beauty and fertility, that the figure would come to life. In response to his prayer, Galatea was brought to life and returned his love. A Cypriot sculptor in a legend that Roman poet Ovid retold the legend in his Latin narrative poem Metamorphoses which contains several hundreds of myths. 
There are two depictions of Pygmalion and Galatea in Oil Paintings of Anne-Louis Girodet De Roussy-Trioson (French, 1767-1824) and Jean-Leon Gerome (French, 1824-1904, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).