Cupids and Psyche making perfume
Fresco fragment of the Fourth style.50—79 CE.
38 × 56 × 2 cm. Inv. No. 72.AG.81.Los Angeles, John Paul Getty Museum, Getty Villa in Malibu
Cupids and Psyche making perfume.
Fresco fragment of the Fourth style.
50—79 CE.
38 × 56 × 2 cm.
50—79 CE.
38 × 56 × 2 cm.
Inv. No. 72.AG.81.
Los Angeles, John Paul Getty Museum, Getty Villa in Malibu.
Origin:
Until 1972 — Elie Borowski, Polish, 1913—2003 (Basel, Switzerland), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1972.
Description:
One of a pair of Roman fresco panels that were originally part of the same wall (see also 72.AG.82). Both frescoes depict scenes of Cupids and Psyche (Cupid’s beloved) engaging in everyday activities — a popular humorous subject in Roman art, especially wall painting. In this panel, a group of Cupids tend a perfume shop. On the left, two Cupids mix perfume in a large white bowl. Behind them, a cupboard holds jars containing either perfume ingredients or the finished product. At the right, a third Cupid holds an alabastron (flask), while a seated Psyche holds up her arm to smell the fragrance.
This fresco fragment was part of a larger scheme of painted decoration for a wall in a wealthy home. The painting style, categorized by scholars as Fourth Style, is the last style of Roman wall painting, and combines the spatial vistas of the Second Style with the fantastic architecture of the Third Style. It was popular from approximately 63 B.C. until A.D. 79, when Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed. The houses excavated at those sites show that a panel like this one would have been a minor element of the wall’s decoration, subsidiary to a large panel with a mythological or architectural motif.
Literature:
Vermeule, Cornelius, and Norman Neuerberg. Catalogue of the Ancient Art in the J. Paul Getty Museum (Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1973), pp. 99—100, no. 99, ill.
Fredericksen, Burton B., Jiří Frel, and Gillian Wilson. Guidebook: The J. Paul Getty Museum. 4th ed. Sandra Morgan, ed. (Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1978), p. 38.
The J. Paul Getty Museum Appointment Calendar (Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1981), Week of February 9.
Spivey, Nigel and Squire, Michael. Panorama of the Classical World (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2004), p. 27, fig. 34.
Turner, Michael. “Aphrodite and Her Birds: the Iconology of Pagenstecher Lekythoi”. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 48 (2005), p. 67 n. 63.
Fredericksen, Burton B., Jiří Frel, and Gillian Wilson. Guidebook: The J. Paul Getty Museum. 4th ed. Sandra Morgan, ed. (Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1978), p. 38.
The J. Paul Getty Museum Appointment Calendar (Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1981), Week of February 9.
Spivey, Nigel and Squire, Michael. Panorama of the Classical World (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2004), p. 27, fig. 34.
Turner, Michael. “Aphrodite and Her Birds: the Iconology of Pagenstecher Lekythoi”. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies 48 (2005), p. 67 n. 63.
Credits:
(cc) 2020. Photo, text: The J. Paul Getty Museum (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program.
Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program.
Keywords: ζωγραφικήί pictura ars picturae painting pittura malerei peinture φρεσκογραφία τοιχογραφία νωπογραφία wall fresco frescos frescoes opera parietale murale opere parietali murali affresco affreschi freskomalerei frischmalerei wandmalerei fresko fresken fresque fresques pintura mural ρωμαϊκές roman romana romano romani römisch römische römisches römischen römischer romain romaine romains romaines τέταρτο στυλ fourth style iv quarto stile pompeiano vierte vierter stil quatrième ελληνική μυθολογία mythologia graeca greek mythology mitologia greca griechische mythologie grecque ψυχή psyche psiche psyché ἔρως έρως eros éros ρωμαϊκή amor cupid amore cupido amour alabaster alabastro albâtre αλάβαστρο alatus alata winged alato geflügelt ailé φτερωτό geflügelte ailée φτερωτή cup bowl coppa becher schale coupe on black background su fondo nero auf schwarzem hintergrund sur fond noir carved leg gamba intagliata geschnitztes bein jambe sculptée seated sitting siede seduta seduto sitzt sitzende sitzender assis assise perfumery profumeria parfümerie parfumerie perfume profumo parfüm parfums chair with backrest sedia con schienale stuhl mit rückenlehne chaise avec dossier working making during at work fare lavoro machen arbeit faire travail cupids and inv no 72 ag 81
