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About This Work
In this central scene, a winged Mercury guides Psyche upward through the clouds toward her celestial union with Cupid. The surrounding architectural elements feature heavy garlands of fruit and flowers, with one putto holding the blacksmith tools of Vulcan and another riding a lion and sea-horse. The composition is based on the famous fresco cycle designed by Raphael for the Loggia di Psiche at the Villa Farnesina.
The myth of Cupid and Psyche is a central Neoplatonic allegory representing the human soul's (Psyche) journey of purification and eventual ascent to divine immortality. Mercury appears here in his esoteric role as the Psychopomp, the guide of souls who mediates between the mortal and divine spheres.