Mercury and Psyche (Begas)
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Merkur und Psyche , also Merkur abducts Psyche , is the title of a marble sculpture from 1878 by Reinhold Begas , which today stands at the entrance to the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.
theme
The subject “Mercury and Psyche” is taken from the metamorphoses of the Roman poet Apuleius , but unlike Amor and Psyche , whose love story has been played out in innumerable variations in Western art, literature and music, has been discussed much less often.
Psyche is the daughters of a king, whose beauty eclipses even Venus . Out of jealousy, Venus orders her son Amor to make Psyche in love with an ugly demon. Instead, Cupid falls in love with Psyche and has a child for her. Venus foams with anger and sends Mercury , the messenger of the gods, to bring Psyche to Olympus to punish her.
description
The sculpture is 205 cm high, 130 cm wide and 95 cm deep and is made of slightly tinted Carrara marble . Shown is the moment when the god Mercury shoulders Psyche to take off with her on Olympus.
history
Begas exhibited the plaster model of the sculpture group at the Academy Exhibition in Berlin in 1874, whereupon the Prussian state ordered a marble version. The sculpture was purchased in 1878. In 2004 the group was re-measured and examined for cracks with ultrasound.
Web links
- Image index of art & architecture
- Today: "Amor und Psyche" by Reinhold Begas in the Alte Nationalgalerie bz-berlin.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Merkur abducts Psyche , Historisches Museum Basel, accessed on July 1, 2020
- ↑ Image index of art & architecture , accessed on June 30, 2020
- ↑ factory work, Hannover. Reference list. Restoration GbR, status 2019