Plate 23: Psyche on the order of Venus departing to find the golden fleece, from "The Story of Cupid and Psyche as told by Apuleius"
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 1/4 × 15 13/16 in. (26 × 40.2 cm) Plate: 7 13/16 × 9 1/16 in. (19.8 × 23 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, transferred from the Library
Accession Number
41.71.3(23)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting engraving, *Plate 23: Psyche on the order of Venus departing to find the golden fleece from the series *The Story of Cup and Psyche as told Apuleius*, captures pivotal moment in the ancient Roman tale from Apuleius'The Golden Ass* (2nd century AD). Here, the mortal Psyche, under Venus's cruel command, sets out on her perilous quest for the golden fleece from the world's most fearsome sheep—a task designed to test her endurance amid the goddess's jealousy. Surrounded by shadowy trees, Psyche's determined figure evokes the myth's themes of love, trials, and transformation, which ...
About the Artist
Antonio Salamanca|Master of the Die|Michiel Coxie (I) ( |Italian (born Spain)) · |1478 – |1562
|Salamanca 1478–1562 Rome