Mercury Abducting Psyche at The Louvre, Paris

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Mercury effortlessly lifts Psyche aloft as he escorts her to Olympus where she finally obtains immortality after overcoming numerous challenges and is reunited with her lover Cupid. Adriaen de Vries's monumental bronze masterpiece is a virtuosic work whose bold distribution of weight and spiraling movement create an impression of flight, inviting the spectator to move around the sculpture. During the transition from the 16th to the 17th century, German emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612) transformed his capital city Prague into a major cultural hub, attracting astronomers like Tycho Brahe, writers and artists. He drew many mannerist artists from Flanders to the city, including the painter Bartholomaeus Spranger, whose Allegory of Law and Prudence is owned by the Louvre, and the sculptor Adriaen de Vries. This Dutchman, a brilliant pupil of Giambologna in Florence, cast two monumental masterpieces in Prague: Mercury Abducting Psyche, and Psyche Borne by Cupids (Stockholm). Jealous of Psyche's beauty and furious at the union of this mortal woman and her son Cupid, Venus inflicted a series of trials on the young woman, who successfully overcame them. Psyche was granted immortality by Jupiter and forgiven by Venus. The messenger god Mercury took Psyche to Mount Olympus, where she was reunited with her lover. The Latin writer Apuleius (c. AD 125-170) recounts this story in The Golden Ass. Mercury is easily recognizable by his winged ankles and petasos (winged helmet). In the Stockholm group, Psyche elegantly raises a vase in allusion to the episode where she risked going to the underworld to ask Persephone for some of her beauty potion. In the intellectual context of Prague, the allegorical meaning of the sculpture cannot be ignored. Mercury Abducting Psyche personifies two concepts: Art and Genius. The group signifies that Art raises Genius to immortality, a proud assertion of the value of his work by the sculptor. In this work, Adriaen de Vries appears to push back the frontiers of sculpture and surpass his master. He reworks Giambologna's bold distribution of weight in Flying Mercury (a copy of which is in the Louvre), where the messenger god's foot seems to be the only part of the statue still in contact with the ground. In de Vries's work, the drapery falling between the two bodies supports the group without affecting its lightness. The figures form a "knot of bodies" whose flowing, undulating lines spiral upward, giving an aerial feeling of elevation. The group invites the spectator to move around the statue and study it from multiple angles, none of which dominates, as in Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women (Florence, Loggia dei Lanzi). The svelte bodies, firm modeling, exaggerated elongation of the hands with slender fingers, the figures' graceful positions, and the energy in the movements are characteristic of mannerism spreading through Europe at the time. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for public access. Scan the World is an open-source community effort; if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.