Existing comment:
Mercury and Psyche
This vase is decorated on both sides with episodes from Apuleius's Golden Ass, an ancient Roman novel recounting the adventures of a certain Lucius. Obsessed with learning about magic, Lucius is transformed into a donkey and wanders at length, witnessing and hearing many incredible stories. One such tale is that of Cupid and Psyche, the subject of a famous cycle of frescoes designed by Raphael and published in prints by engravers in his workshop. For the scene on the front of this vase, the pottery painter copied Caraglio's engraving of the messenger god Mercury leading Psyche to Mount Olympus for her marriage to her beloved Cupid. For the scene on the back he combined figures from two other prints to illustrate a different episode from the novel. The nude man throwing a wine-skin is copied from The Massacre of the Innocents after Bandinelli, exhibited nearby. |