Mercury Abducting Psyche (lateral view Mercury's side), from a set of three views of the sculpture
ca. 1593
Medium
Engraving; state indeterminate
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed into image): 17 1/2 × 9 3/4 in. (44.4 × 24.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Burton Emmett, 1929
Accession Number
29.49.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting engraving captures a lateral view from Mercury's side Adriaen de Vries' dynamic sculpture *Mercury Abducting Psy*, circa 1593. Created as one of three views, it showcases the Northern Mannerist sculptor's mastery of elongated forms and fluid motion. De Vries, a Dutch artist who worked at the imperial court in Prague drew from classical mythology: here, the winged god Mercury sweeps away Psyche, a pivotal moment in the tale of love and divine intervention from Apuleius' *Golden Ass*. Collaborating engraver Jan Muller faithfully translated the bronze sculpture's sensuous curves a...