Other Frescoes
Other Frescoes
AFTER RAPHAEL (URBINO 1483-ROME 1520)
Venus and Psyche
c.1853-76Albumen print | 10.8 x 8.4 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 853947
A photograph of a sketch by Raphael in the Ashmolean, Oxford (inv.no.WA1846.286), for the pendentive fresco depicting Psyche and Venus from the vault of the entrance loggia of the Farnesina, Agostino Chigi's villa in Rome, which was frescoed with mythological subjects by Raphael's workshop c.1518. Annotated on verso.
A more highly-finished drawing for this fresco is in the collection of the Louvre, Paris (see RCIN 853945 for a photograph of this drawing).
The fresco decoration in the Farnesina illustrates the classical fable of Cupid and Psyche, a story which was also frequently used to decorate Florentine wedding chests. Raphael's fresco scheme comprises two primary scenes in the vault (painted to resemble tapestries), accompanied by a series of episodes painted in the pendentives. The whole is encompassed within a fictive pergola, which gives the viewer the impression of looking up into the heavens. Only the upper part of the loggia is painted (the vault and its supporting pendentives and spandrels).
A more highly-finished drawing for this fresco is in the collection of the Louvre, Paris (see RCIN 853945 for a photograph of this drawing).
The fresco decoration in the Farnesina illustrates the classical fable of Cupid and Psyche, a story which was also frequently used to decorate Florentine wedding chests. Raphael's fresco scheme comprises two primary scenes in the vault (painted to resemble tapestries), accompanied by a series of episodes painted in the pendentives. The whole is encompassed within a fictive pergola, which gives the viewer the impression of looking up into the heavens. Only the upper part of the loggia is painted (the vault and its supporting pendentives and spandrels).
Creator(s)
After Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520) (artist)
Middle; OC[?] [illegible number]2 [space] Ø 655 / T 239
10.8 x 8.4 cm (sheet of paper)
- Acquired for the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
Subject(s)
- Religion & Theology
- Religions and faiths
- Religions of antiquity
- Classical mythology
- Psyche
- Venus (mythology)
- Classical mythology
- Religions of antiquity
- Religions and faiths
- Religion & Theology
Bibliographic reference(s)
p.237, no.413 (Joannides 1983 : Joannides, P., 1983. The Drawings of Raphael, with a complete catalogue, Oxford)
pp.183-89 (Jones/Penny 1983 : Jones, R. and Penny, N. Raphael, 1983)
