The Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche

The Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche

Hendrick Goltzius

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Comprising about seventy figures and printed from three engraved plates, this print was the largest and most famous of the Haarlem engraver's collaborations with Bartholomeus Spranger, court painter to Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. The daring composition—a bravura display of elegant twisting and turning figures—was of great importance in disseminating Spranger's Mannerist aesthetic and Goltzius's virtuoso engraving style throughout Europe. As is typical of Mannerist works, the main subjects of the scene are placed in the background: the small figures of Cupid with large wings and his bride, Psyche, the mortal beauty who is being admitted to the ranks of the gods, are at the head of the table in the center. The wedding guests surround the couple; Bacchus pours the drinks, while Apollo and the Muses serenade the company. The drawing for the print is in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and PsycheThe Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and PsycheThe Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and PsycheThe Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and PsycheThe Feast of the Gods at the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.