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Cupid and Psyche Bathing from a set of Mythological Subjects after Giulio Romano

designed 1684–86, woven 1692–1700
Not on view
In a rocky clearing, putti undress Cupid and Psyche as they prepare to bathe in a shallow, marble-rimmed pool.


This tapestry is from a set of eight, traditionally called Les Sujets de la Fable. The designs for all eight tapestries are based in part upon drawings then in Louis XIV's collection- now preserved in the Louvre- which were all, at that time, attributed to Giulio Romano. Four of the tapestries in this series- all of which are part of The Met’s collection- ultimately take as their inspiration frescos by Giulio Romano and his assistants in the Palazzo Te, Mantua. The design source of this tapestry is Giulio’s fresco of Mars bathing with Venus painted in the Palazzo’s sala di Psiche.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cupid and Psyche Bathing from a set of Mythological Subjects after Giulio Romano
  • Designer: Designed after a drawing attributed to Giulio Romano (Italian, Rome 1499?–1546 Mantua)
  • Designer: Cartoon painted by Charles François Poerson (1653–1725)
  • Designer: Sketches probably made by Antoine Coypel (French, Paris 1661–1722 Paris)
  • Designer: Jean-Baptiste Corneille (French, Paris 1649–1695 Paris)
  • Manufactory: Woven in the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins (French, established 1662)
  • Workshop director: Woven under the direction of Jean Jans the Younger (French, 1644–1723) and
  • Workshop director: woven under the direction of Jean Lefebvre the Elder (French, active 1662–1700)
  • Patron: Commissioned for Louis XIV, King of France (French, Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1638–1715 Versailles)
  • Date: designed 1684–86, woven 1692–1700
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Wool, silk, metal thread (20-26 warps per inch, 8-12 per cm.)
  • Dimensions: 12 ft. × 14 ft. 3 in. (365.8 × 434.3 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Gift of Julia A. Berwind, 1953
  • Object Number: 53.225.10
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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Design for a Decorated Drinking Cup with Floriated Heads around Large Mouth, Intertwined Serpents as Handles, Giulio Romano Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash over traces of black chalk; small corrections in white gouache
Design for a Decorated Drinking Cup with Floriated Heads around Large Mouth, Intertwined Serpents as Handles
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Drawing of a Ewer in Antique Style, Giulio Romano , Manner of. Italian, Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash
Drawing of a Ewer in Antique Style
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Battle Scene with Soldiers Mounted on an Elephant., Giulio Romano Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, over black chalk
Battle Scene with Soldiers Mounted on an Elephant.
Giulio Romano
1550–1650
Death of Niobe's Children
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Philips Galle
Design for a Candlestick, Giulio Romano Italian, Pen and brown ink, light brown wash, over traces of black chalk and some incised lines made with a straight edge
Design for a Candlestick
Giulio Romano
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