Preparations for the Banquet of Cupid and Psyche (aka Feast of the Gods) (after Giulio Romano)

This remarkably large engraving was produced by one of the rare Renaissance woman printmakers, Diana Scultori, famous during her lifetime for her artistic talent. It illustrates the scene of Psyche and Cupid’s wedding from Giulio Romano’s celebrated frescoes at the Palazzo Te for the Mantuan duke Federico Gonzaga. Scultori altered the scene on the far right, replacing the original erotic scene of Psyche and Cupid reclining together in bed with one in which the couple prepare for the celebration. Yet by adding a bevy of spirited winged putti to help bathe and dress the couple, she conserves an amorous tone. The winged attendants’ mythological and heavenly associations temper the sexual connotations of the original scene, rendering this widely circulated engraving more marketable.