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1 of 253523 objects
Psyche going up to Mount Olympus 1540-70
Engraving | 29.2 x 21.7 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 853941

Attributed to Nicolas Beatrizet (active 1540-72)
Psyche going up to Mount Olympus 1540-70
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An engraving attributed to Nicolas Beatrizet reproducing, in reverse, the pendentive fresco depicting Mercury from the vault of the entrance loggia of the Farnesina, Agostino Chigi's villa in Rome, which was frescoed with mythological subjects by Raphael's workshop c. 1518. Trimmed within platemark.
The fresco decoration in the Farnesina illustrates the classical fable of Cupid and Psyche, a story which was also frequently used to decorate Florentine wedding chests. Raphael's fresco scheme comprises two primary scenes in the vault (painted to resemble tapestries), accompanied by a series of episodes painted in the pendentives. The whole is encompassed within a fictive pergola, which gives the viewer the impression of looking up into the heavens. Only the upper part of the loggia is painted (the vault and its supporting pendentives and spandrels).Provenance
Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Engraving
Measurements
29.2 x 21.7 cm (sheet of paper)
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Bibliographic reference(s)
Raphael Invenit 1985 : G. Bernini Pezzini et al., Raphael Invenit. Stampe di Raffaello nelle Collezioni dell'Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica, Rome, 1985 p.152, VII.7 (entry by Stefania Massari)
Höper 2001 : Höper, C. Raffael und die Folgen, Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2001 p.350, no.E8.12
Jones/Penny 1983 : Jones, R. and Penny, N. Raphael, 1983 pp.183-89