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The story of Cupid and Psyche: Charon's fee – Antique Print

The story of Cupid and Psyche: Charon's fee, [between 1870 and 1896], c1974. — antique engraving
The story of Cupid and Psyche: Charon's fee, [between 1870 and 1896], c1974.. Antique engraving from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This antique engraving of The story of Cupid and Psyche: Charon's fee brings a moment of history to your wall. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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The story of Cupid and Psyche: Charon's fee

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In this scene, Psyche faces Charon's fee: the ferryman who carries the dead across the river Styx requires a coin for passage, and in the myth Psyche must pay it on her journey to the underworld. The tale comes from Apuleius's Latin novel *The Golden Ass*, written in the second century CE, where Venus sends Psyche to fetch a casket of beauty from Proserpina. Wood engravings like this one were a staple of illustrated books and magazines in the late nineteenth century, when classical subjects such as Cupid and Psyche were popular with artists and publishers.

Created / published[between 1870 and 1896], c1974.
Medium1 print : wood engraving.
GenreWood engravings 1970-1980.Allegorical prints 1970-1980.
SubjectsPsyche (Greek deity) Charon (Greek mythology) Cupid and Psyche (Tale) Ferries--1870-1900.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,015 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-161849

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