The story of Cupid and Psyche: Psyche going into hell – Historic Print
![The story of Cupid and Psyche: Psyche going into hell, [between 1870 and 1896], c1974. — antique engraving](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/4e/4e3d0879377b-L.webp)
(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
The story of Cupid and Psyche: Psyche going into hell comes to life in this antique engraving, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. It makes a striking addition to a living room, study or office, and a thoughtful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.
The story of Cupid and Psyche: Psyche going into hell
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Psyche's descent into the underworld sets this print apart from other images of the tale, showing the errand Venus gives her: to fetch a box of beauty from Proserpina. In Apuleius's telling, Psyche must pay the ferryman Charon and quiet the three-headed dog Cerberus before she reaches the realm of the dead. The record dates the engraving to between 1870 and 1896, when wood engraving was a common way to illustrate classical myths in books and magazines. Its allegorical framing treats the journey as a trial of the soul before love is restored.
| Created / published | [between 1870 and 1896], c1974. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : wood engraving. |
| Genre | Wood engravings 1970-1980.Allegorical prints 1970-1980. |
| Subjects | Psyche (Greek deity) Cupid and Psyche (Tale) Hell--1870-1900. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,100 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-161848 |
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