Venus seeks vengence on Psyche
Tapestry
1555-1565 (designed)
1555-1565 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This tapestry probably belonged to a set of sixteen, though some are now untraceable. The subject is Venus seeking vengence on Psyche, from the story of Cupid and Psyche, as related by the Latin author Lucius Apuleius in the Golden Ass. The story was a favourite pictorial theme during the Renaissance.
Venus is shown asking for help from the goddesses Juno and Ceres, and from the God Jupiter above. She is scheming for vengence on the beautiful mortal Psyche, who her son Cupid has fallen in love with.
Venus is shown asking for help from the goddesses Juno and Ceres, and from the God Jupiter above. She is scheming for vengence on the beautiful mortal Psyche, who her son Cupid has fallen in love with.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Venus seeks vengence on Psyche (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Tapestry woven in wool and silk |
| Brief description | Tapestry, 'Venus seeks vengence on Psyche', designed by Giovanni Battista Castello, probably Brussels, 1555-65 |
| Physical description | wool and silk on a wool warp:18-20 warps to the inch. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Dowager Viscountess Harcourt GBE |
| Object history | This tapestry was given to the museum along with several other tapestries, T.767 - T.775-1950, by the Dowager Viscountess Harcourt, G.B.E. (R.P.: 50/2906). The tapestry and two others from the same series, which are also in the museum's collection, originally came from a set of approximately sixteen tapestries. They used to hang in room 21. photographed and measured as part of Advanced Works project, 03/03/2017 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Literary reference | Apuleius, Lucius, <i>Golden Ass</i> |
| Summary | This tapestry probably belonged to a set of sixteen, though some are now untraceable. The subject is Venus seeking vengence on Psyche, from the story of Cupid and Psyche, as related by the Latin author Lucius Apuleius in the Golden Ass. The story was a favourite pictorial theme during the Renaissance. Venus is shown asking for help from the goddesses Juno and Ceres, and from the God Jupiter above. She is scheming for vengence on the beautiful mortal Psyche, who her son Cupid has fallen in love with. |
| Associated objects |
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| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.772-1950 |
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| Record created | May 29, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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