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1 of 253523 objects
Venus and Psyche c.1853-76
Albumen print | 10.8 x 8.4 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 853947

After Raphael (1483-1520)
Venus and Psyche c.1853-76
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A photograph of a sketch by Raphael in the Ashmolean, Oxford (inv.no.WA1846.286), for the pendentive fresco depicting Psyche and Venus 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. Annotated on verso.
A more highly-finished drawing for this fresco is in the collection of the Louvre, Paris (see RCIN 853945 for a photograph of this drawing).
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
Acquired for the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Albumen print
Measurements
10.8 x 8.4 cm (sheet of paper)
Markings
annotation: Middle; OC[?] [illegible number]2 [space] Ø 655 / T 239 [verso, top centre; along bottom, in ink; different hands?]
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Bibliographic reference(s)
Joannides 1983 : Joannides, P., 1983. The Drawings of Raphael, with a complete catalogue, Oxford p.237, no.413
Jones/Penny 1983 : Jones, R. and Penny, N. Raphael, 1983 pp.183-89