Pompeo Batoni: The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche

The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, 1756, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Rome, 1756. Pompeo Girolamo Batoni completes a royal commission: to immortalize the divine union of Cupid and Psyche. This painting would become Frederick the Great’s wartime companion.

A Celestial Ceremony

Observe the scene: Venus, seated on a golden chariot drawn by two doves, guides the hand of her son Cupid. He slips the ring onto Psyche’s finger. Hymen, god of marriage, delicately holds the young mortal’s hand. The bodies unfold upon vaporous clouds. Psyche, the only earthly figure, rests on the floor of the bridal chamber.

The draperies undulate in saffron and deep blue. Batoni paints with a goldsmith’s precision. The chiaroscuro modeling sculpts pearlescent flesh. The faces breathe grace. The composition is organized around a perfectly balanced tripartite central group.

A Work Between Two Eras

This mythological marriage arrived in Berlin under extraordinary circumstances. Commissioned before the Seven Years’ War, the work crossed battlefields. Frederick the Great carried it with him everywhere. It would not be paid for until 1763, after the peace treaty.

Batoni follows in the classical tradition of Carlo Maratta and Raphael. Yet his elegance already heralds the emerging Neoclassicism. Four years after this painting, Mengs would officially inaugurate the new style.

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni

Batoni (1708-1787) then reigned over Rome as Europe’s most celebrated portraitist. Trained in his father’s goldsmith workshop, he mastered the precious rendering of materials. His refined classicism captivated the Grand Tour aristocracy. Psyche’s head bears the features of his wife Lucia, celebrated as one of Rome’s most beautiful women.