Currently not on view
The Wedding of Cupid and Psyche,
1587
Hendrick Goltzius, 1558–1617; born Mülbracht, Netherlands; died Haarlem, Netherlands
after Bartholomeus Spranger, Flemish, 1546–1611
after Bartholomeus Spranger, Flemish, 1546–1611
x1934-686
The virtuoso printmaker Hendrick Goltzius expanded his international reputation with the publication of this largescale work, which was designed by Bartholomeus Spranger, court painter to Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. Engraved on three copper plates, the vast composition represents the wedding banquet of Cupid, the god of love, and Psyche, his mortal bride, who was granted divine status by Jupiter. Near the center, Bacchus pours wine, while Apollo and his musicians serenade the numerous guests, whose elegant twisting and turning poses evoke Spranger’s stylish aesthetic. An architecture of rolling clouds, created by the rich patterns of Goltzius’s swelling and tapering lines, supports and surrounds the celestial figures. The scene resembles the feast of a lavish royal court, appropriate for an image dedicated to one of Rudolf’s high officials.
Information
Title
The Wedding of Cupid and Psyche
Dates
1587
Maker
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
plate (sheet trimmed to plate): 43.3 × 85.5 cm (17 1/16 × 33 11/16 in.)
frame: 70 × 111 × 3.2 cm (27 9/16 × 43 11/16 × 1 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Junius S. Morgan, Class of 1888
Object Number
x1934-686
Place Made
Europe, Netherlands
Inscription
Signatures, address and date in rectangle at bottom right: BARTO[LOME]VS SPRANGERS ANT[WERPI]VS / INVEN. ANNO. 1587 / HGoltzius sculp. et excud.
Ten lines of Latin dedication on tablet at lower left center
Thirty-six lines in nine columns of Latin text in margin below print: En thalamus Psyches, et carlestes Hymenaros, … Facundat secle nulle interiturn Voluptas
Marks/Labels/Seals
Inscribed in red ink, lower right corner: [illegible]
Reference Numbers
Bartsch 85.277; Hollstein 322 I; New Hollstein 341; Strauss 255
Type
Materials
Techniques
-
F.W.H. Hollstein, "Goltzius-Heemskerck," Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings, and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700, (Amsterdam: M. Hertzberger, 1953).
- Dutch Mannerism, Apogee and Epilogue (Poughkeepsie: Vassar College Art Gallery, 1970)., no. 97, pl. 31
- Hendrik Goltzius and F. A. Den Broeder, Hendrik Goltzius and the Printmakers of Haarlem (Storrs: The University of Connecticut Art Museum, 1972)., x1934–674: no. 29
- Otto Hirschmann and E. W. Moes, Hendrik Goltzius, Verzeichnis des graphischen Werks (Braunschweig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1976)., no. 376
- Frima Fox Hofrichter, Haarlem, the seventeenth century (New Brunswick: Rutgers University, 1983)., p. 62, cat. no. 13
- Barbara T. Ross, "The Prints and Drawings Collection: The Early Years," in "An Art Museum for Princeton: The Early Years", special issue, Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 55, no. 1/2 (1996): 135–155., p. 137, fig. 2
- Marjolein Leesberg, "Hendrick Goltzius," New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, 1450-1700 (Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel: Sound & Vision Publishers, in co-operation with the Rijksprentenkabinet, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2012)., no. 399 (Stradanus)
- Walter L. Strauss, ed., Hendrik Goltzius, 1558-1617: the complete engravings and woodcuts (New York: Abaris Books, 1977-)., no. 408
