Psyche1.0011

Psyche1.0011_Raphael

Villa Farnesina site
ogcma s.v. "Psyche"

Raphael (1483—1520), assistants (Giulio Romano and others), after designs and cartoons by the master. Fresco cycle: 2 large ceiling panels simulating tapestries (“Council of the Gods,” "The Wedding Feast of Cupid and Psyche”), surrounded by 10 spandrels. 1517-18. Loggia di Psiche, Villa Farnesina, Rome.

Copied by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1628) in Mertoun House, Rosburghshire.

Elaborate frescoed ceiling depicting mythological scenes, including the Council of the Gods and the Wedding of Cupid and Psyche

The adaptation of the Psyche myth to the ceiling of the Farnese Villa is a milestone in Renaissance art. The technical challenge of painting a frieze-like image on a curved surface notwithstanding, the adaptation of Apuleius' classical narrative to the building is remarkable as well.

Bibliography:
Vecchi, Pierluigi de. 1987. The Complete Paintings of Raphael. Penguin.

Jones, R. and N. Penny. 1983. Raphael. New Haven: Yale UP.

Hartt, Frederick. 1958. Giulio Romano. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale UP.

D’Ancona, Paolo. 1955. The Farnesina Frescoes at Rome, trans. by L. Krasnik. Milan: Milione.

Gerlini, Elsa. 1949. La Villa Farnesina in Roma. Itinerari dei musei e monumenti d'Italia, 80. Roma: Lib. dello Stato.

OGCMA slides are designed by Roger T. Macfarlane for use in Classical Civilization 241 courses at Brigham Young University.
The present resource contains information assembled for The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1400 – 1990’s, edited by J. Davidson Reid (Oxford 1994), and it is used with express permission from Oxford University Press.
Address concerns or inquiries to macfarlane@byu.edu.