Cupid and Psyche

Between 1597 and 1606, Jan Muller made a number of large-scale engravings after Bartholomeus Spranger, the court painter to Emperor Rudolf II. Like the present work all were mythological subjects with erotic themes or overtones, and Muller used a dynamic swelling and tapering line to capture the mannered poses and exaggerated musculature of the subjects. According to the inscription at the lower right, the composition is based on a terracotta relief made by Spranger.


The print illustrates an early moment from the story of Cupid and Psyche, as recounted by the second century provincial Roman writer Apuleius. Psyche was a young woman whose beauty was such that it rivaled that of Venus, the goddess of love, and so infuriated her that she sent her son Cupid to punish the girl. His intention was to make Psyche fall in love with some hideous creature, but he pricked himself with one of his own magical arrows and fell in love himself. In the scene here Cupid stands gazing adoringly at the sleeping figure of Psyche. He has dropped his bow and a small genius (a winged figure who serves the god) is helping him take off his quiver while another douses a torch to bring the room into darkness.