Oil on panel, 'Mercury Conducting Psyche to Olympus', After Peter Paul Rubens, late 18th century - early 19th century

Jupiter is seated with his right foot upon a sphere and is flanked by Venus and Juno, an eagle flies overhead; on the right Psyche is born aloft by Mercury towards Cupid at Venus' feet, at the left, the Three Graces proffer a crown of flowers

Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides

Purchased by C. A. Ionides before November 1881; mentioned as a painting by Rubens in his inventory, and valued at £150 (his inventory, private collection). Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides, 1900.
The collection formed by Constantine Ionides includes works of a wide variety of schools, periods and artists. His collection includes Old Masters, 17th century works, contemporary British works and French 19th century works. Constantine formed friendships with artists of the day, especially Legros, who, having spent 17 years in Britain, became a naturalise British citizen. Constantine proved a stable and generous buyer of Legros work, while Legros, in turn, became an advisor in the matters of art to the attentive Constantine. Under the influence of Legros Constantine developed a keen interest in French 19th century paintings purchasing works by Delacroix, Degas, Millet and Rousseau.

Constantine’s plans concerning his collection conformed to a more ‘public-welfare’ vein of thought than his father or brother. He decided to donate his collection to the Victoria & Albert Museum, instead of privately distributing it or disposing of it in a Sales room.

His will states:

'All my pictures both in oil and water colors and crayon or colored chalks (but subject as to my family portraits to the interest herein before given to my said Wife) and all my etchings drawings and engravings to the South Kensington Museum for the benefit of the nation to be kept there as one separate collection to be called "The Constantine Alexander Ionides Collection" and not distributed over the Museum or lent for exhibition. And I desire that the said Etchings Drawings and Engravings shall be framed and glazed by and at the expense of the authorities of the Museum so that Students there can easily see them.'

The collection bequeathed to the museum in 1901 comprises 1138 pictures, drawing and prints, to which a further 20 items were added on the death of his widow in 1920. The works are listed in the V&A catalogue of the Constantine Alexander Ionides collection.

Historical significance: Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and diplomat. He was a versatile and influential Baroque artist employed by the rulers of the southern Netherlands as their ambassador and became painter to the courts of Europe. Rubens blended features of the Italian High Renaissance, with which he became acquainted during an extended visit to Italy, with northern realism and a love of landscape. CAI.94 appears to be a late 18th or early 19th century circular copy after Rubens' original circular oil sketch composition (on a rectangular panel), dated ca. 1621, for a ceiling decoration, now in the Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna (Oil on panel 63 x 48cm). In this bozzetto, Rubens rendered the Roman writer Apuleius' tale of Psyche Taken Up into Olympus. Enchanted by Psyche's beauty, mortals forgot to pay homage to Venus. Venus sent her son Cupid to exact revenge, but Psyche immediately fell in love with him. After many travails Cupid eventually weds her and persuades Jupiter to allow Psyche to live in Olympus. The Olympian gods are rendered in foreshortened perspective from below. Mercury, the messenger of the gods, bears Psyche aloft to Jupiter's throne. There Cupid awaits them both with longing. At left, the Three Graces proffer cupid a crown of flowers. Below, Hymen, the genius of bridal couples, flies into the picture carrying a torch. The Liechtenstein sketch was probably painted around 1621 in connection with the ceiling decoration of the Great Hall of the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, although the final work differs considerably. Although CAI. 94 faithfully reproduces Rubens' composition, the handling is less vigourous and the figures animated. As the original Rubens sketch was acquired Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein before 1712, the artist of CAI.94 must have seen it in his collection.

History painting, i.e. depictions of non recurring events based on religious, classical, literary or allegorical sources, particularly developed in the second half of the 17th century in the Netherlands. Although, history painting began in the Netherlands in the late 15th and early 16th centuries with such artists as Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), Jan Mostaert (ca. 1475-1555) and Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533), it had long been overshadowed by the genre painting. Netherlandish artists’ new interest in naturalism transformed distant history into contemporary scenes of everyday life, situating classical and biblical scenes in Netherlandish settings with figures in contemporary costume and sometimes even including historicised portraits.

Jupiter is seated with his right foot upon a sphere and is flanked by Venus and Juno, an eagle flies overhead; on the right Psyche is born aloft by Mecury towards Cupid at Venus' feet, at the left, the Three Graces proffer a crown of flowers. This painting is a late eighteenth or early nineteenth century copy of an oil sketch for a ceiling by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) now in the Liechtenstein collection.Rubens was a Flemish painter, draughtsman and diplomat. He was a versatile and influential Baroque artist employed by the rulers of the southern Netherlands as their ambassador and became painter to the courts of Europe. Rubens blended features of the Italian High Renaissance, with which he became acquainted during an extended visit to Italy, with northern realism and a love of landscape. In his oil sketch, Rubens rendered the Roman writer Apuleius' tale of Psyche Taken Up into Olympus. Enchanted by Psyche's beauty, mortals forgot to pay homage to Venus. Venus sent her son Cupid to exact revenge, but Psyche immediately fell in love with him. After many travails Cupid eventually weds her and persuades Jupiter to allow Psyche to live in Olympus. The Olympian gods are rendered in foreshortened perspective from below. The Liechtenstein sketch was probably painted around 1621 in connection with the ceiling decoration of the Great Hall of the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, although the final work differs considerably. Although CAI. 94 faithfully reproduces Rubens' composition, the handling is less vigourous and the figures animated. As the original Rubens sketch was acquired Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein before 1712, the artist of CAI.94 must have seen it in his collection.

CAI.94