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Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThis engraving reproduces the Renaissance frescoes designed by Raphael for the Loggia di Psiche at the Villa Farnesina. In the center, Venus instructs Cupid to punish Psyche, while the surrounding scenes show winged infants carrying Jupiter's eagle and arrows. The figures are framed by heavy, decorative garlands containing various fruits and botanical specimens.
The myth of Cupid and Psyche, drawn from Apuleius, served as a primary Neoplatonic allegory for the soul's journey, trials, and ultimate union with divine Love. This cycle represents the high Renaissance synthesis of classical mythology and humanist philosophy, often associated with the circle of Marsilio Ficino.
ARGVMENTVM FABVLÆ Venus odio prosequens Psychen Regiam puellam quod suo posthabito numine, à cunctis pro Dea haberetur, eius nuptijs cum Cupidine filio infenso animo aduersatur. Quare infelix puella imperio Veneris, multis periculis aditis, causam apud Iouem agente Cupidine aduersus Matrem, per Mercurium, Psyche in coelum fertur, ac nectaris potu fit immortalis. Vocati Dij nuptiali conuiuio discumbunt. Venus irâ incensa aduersus Psychen quod eius formam, et numen æmularetur, Cupidini filio imperat ut de matris iniurijs ultionem sumat, ac puella uiri contemptissimi amore saucia ab omnibus contemptui habeatur. Apuleius Amores spolia ferunt auctorum Deorum, hic sagittarum suarum ad feriendum acumen digito ostentat. Amor è cælo rediens fulminis refert magni Iouis trophæum.
Translation
THE ARGUMENT OF THE STORY: Venus, pursuing with hatred the royal girl Psyche because, her own divinity being neglected, she was held by all as a Goddess, is hostile with a bitter mind to her marriage with her son Cupid. Wherefore the unhappy girl, having undergone many dangers by the command of Venus, with Cupid pleading her cause before Jove against his mother, Psyche is carried to heaven by Mercury, and becomes immortal by drinking nectar. The summoned Gods recline at the nuptial banquet. Venus, incensed with anger against Psyche because she emulated her beauty and divinity, commands her son Cupid to take revenge for his mother's wrongs, and that the girl, wounded by love for a most contemptible man, should be held in contempt by all. Apuleius. The Loves carry the spoils of the leading Gods; here one shows with his finger the sharpness of his arrows for striking. Love returning from heaven brings back the trophy of the lightning of great Jove.
Apuleius, The Golden Ass (Metamorphoses)
The visual narrative is a direct adaptation of the story of Cupid and Psyche found in Books 4–6 of this text.
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic commentaries provided the intellectual basis for interpreting Psyche as the human soul seeking divine ascent.
Object
Oil on panel
mythological
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:1630899
1969 × 1153 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.