Artist: Michiel Coxie I (Flemish, 1499 – 1592), was a painter of altarpieces
and portraits, a draughtsman, and a designer of stained-glass windows, tapestries, and prints. Highly respected by his contemporaries, Coxie was given the nickname the Flemish Raphael.
Engraver: Master of the Die (Italian, 1530-1560 (fl.) Engraver of the generation after Marcantonio in Rome, work signed with a die with the letter B. Major series of the 32 plates of the story of Cupid and Psyche.
Title: Psyche's sisters persuade her a serpent is sleeping with her.
Titled, Dated, and Signed in plate: Numbered "12" twice lower left; lettered with two blocks of description along the bottom: "L'invidiose de l gran ben di Psiche ..."; lower right: "Ant.Sal. exc." The inscription is cut off and is represented here as a reference.
Dimensions: Sheet 6" x 8 7/8".
Publisher: Antonio Salamanca (Italy, 1478–1562) Print publisher and dealer in books and prints. Active in Rome.
Date: 1530–60.
Materials and Techniques: engraving on laid paper.
Provenance: The Estate of George "Yorgo" Demetrakopoulos; professor, assistant director of the Medieval Institute, and assistant to the dean at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1965-2000.
Condition: Trimmed to or within the borderline; u.l. corner is torn off, a single dent u.m., soiling, wear. The signs of aging are appropriate for the time. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Catalog Raisonne: Adam Bartsch. Le Peintre graveur. Volume XV. P. 216. No. 50 (12).
Part of: Series: The Fable of Cupid and Psyche. Plate 12/32.
Museums and Libraries: The Metropolitan Museum of Art 62.635.914. The British Museum M,44.24; L,67.12.
Art Movements, Periods & Schools: Italian School XVI C.
Note: This entry incorporates text from Wikipedia and the catalog entry of a similar item from the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.