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Cupid and Psyche

Artist Giorgio Ghisi (Italian, 1520–December 15, 1582)
After Artist Giulio Romano (Italian, 1499–November 1, 1546)
Title Cupid and Psyche
Date 1574
Medium Engraving on paper
Dimensions Image: 14 1/16 × 9 1/8 in. (35.7 × 23.2 cm)
Sheet: 14 1/16 x 9 1/8 in. (35.7 x 23.2 cm)
Credit Line Collection of Diether Thimme, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 98.266

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About this Work

This exquisite print reproduces a segment of a complex fresco cycle from the Sala di Psyche in the Palazzo del Te, Mantua. Based on the stories of Francesco Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (1499), the activity takes place at a bacchanalian feast on the island of Venus. Cupid and Psyche, reclining on a couch, are crowned with laurel wreaths by a hora (winged attendant). Their child, Voluptas (goddess of sexual delight), is between them. Behind the couch, Ceres pours water from a pitcher onto Cupid’s left hand, which rests on a dish held by Juno. In the middle ground, satyrs prepare a sacrifice before an unidentified male statue.

The narrative’s emphasis on the carnal activities of one of mythology’s greatest couples made it an ideal subject for a room that served as a private retreat for the patron and his mistress.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Cupid and Psyche | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=98.266