The People Rendering Divine Honors to Psyche
1530/40
Medium
Engraving in warm brown ink on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 20 × 23.5 cm (7 7/8 × 9 5/16 in.); Sheet: 27 × 37 cm (10 11/16 × 14 5/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
158169
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This series by the Renaissance engraver known as the Master of the Die tells the story of the romance between Cupid, the ancient god of love, and his mortal beloved, Psyche. Cupid’s mother, Venus, resented Psyche’s rare beauty because she distracted the goddess’s followers. When Venus dispatches Cupid to exact her revenge, he falls in love with Psyche himself. Secretly meeting Psyche only at night, he attempts to keep his identity secret but is ultimately discovered. Psyche then embarks on a ser...
About the Artist
Master of the Die · 1525–1560
**Master of the Die** (fl. 1525–1560) was an anonymous Italian engraver and printmaker active primarily in Rome during the mid-16th century. Named for the distinctive small die he used to sign his prints—a tiny emblematic mark that became his moniker—this elusive artist remains unidentified despite scholarly proposals linking him to figures like Benedetto Verino, Giovanni Francesco Zabello, Tommas...