JAN HARMENSZ MULLER (1571-1628) AFTER BARTHOLOMÄUS SPRANGER (1546-1611)

This large, horizontal composition, rendered with exquisite sensuality and graphic finesse by Jan Harmensz. Muller, is inspired by a terracotta relief by Bartholomäus Spranger. The Dutch painter, also a highly talented draughtsman and sculptor, was one of the main protagonists of Northern Mannerism. This highly artificial and elevated visual language, rich with elongated, elegant poses and laden with explicit eroticism, developed at the court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, who had moved the capital of the Habsburg Empire from Vienna to Prague, where he gathered under his patronage the best artists and craftsmen of all disciplines.
The scene here depicts the moment when Amor, sent by Venus to castigate Psyche for her beauty, gazes at her as she sleeps naked on her bed, and falls in love with her. It is one of a group of prints, made by engravers working for the court of Rudolf II, based on the story of Amor and Psyche as told by Lucius Apuleius (circa 124 – after 170 A.D.) in his novel The Golden Ass.