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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileMercury is depicted as a muscular figure wearing his characteristic winged hat, looking back toward Psyche as he leads her through the clouds. Psyche follows with her arms crossed over her chest and her gaze directed upward, signifying her transition from the mortal to the divine realm. This work is a 19th-century copy of a composition originally designed for the Loggia di Psiche in the Villa Farnesina.
The myth of Psyche was interpreted by Renaissance Neoplatonists as an allegory for the human soul’s journey and ultimate purification. Mercury appears here as a psychopomp, the celestial guide who facilitates the soul's return to the divine source.
Chatsworth 44 853957
Apuleius
The myth of Psyche's trials and eventual deification is famously recounted in his 2nd-century work, The Golden Ass.
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic philosophy established the soul (Psyche) as the central link in the Great Chain of Being, seeking ascent through divine love.
Object
Oil on panel
mythological
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/64/collection/853957/mercury-transporting-psyche-to-olympus
1600 × 2000 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.