Mercury Abducting Psyche at The Louvre, Paris

Mercury bears Psyche aloft as he escorts her to Olympus where, after many adventures, she obtains immortality and is reunited with her lover Cupid. Adriaen de Vries's monumental bronze is a virtuoso work whose bold distribution of weight and spiraling movement create an impression of flight and invite the spectator to move around the sculpture. At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, the German emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612) turned his capital city Prague into a major center of culture, home to astronomers (including Tycho Brahe), writers and artists. He drew many mannerist artists from Flanders to the city, such as the painter Bartholomaeus Spranger (whose Allegory of Law and Prudence is owned by the Louvre), and the sculptor Adriaen de Vries. This Dutchman, a brilliant pupil of Giambologna in Florence, cast two monumental masterpieces in Prague: Mercury Abducting Psyche, and Psyche Borne by Cupids (Stockholm). Jealous of Psyche's beauty and furious at the union of this mere mortal and her son Cupid, the goddess Venus inflicted a series of trials on the young woman, who overcame them successfully. Psyche was granted immortality by Jupiter and forgiven by Venus. The messenger god Mercury took Psyche to Mount Olympus, where she was reunited with her lover. The Latin writer Apuleius (c. AD 125-170) relates this story in The Golden Ass.Mercury is easily identifiable by his winged ankles and petasos (winged helmet). As in the Stockholm group, Psyche gracefully raises a vase in an allusion to the episode in which she had to risk going to the underworld to ask Persephone for some of her beauty potion.In the intellectual context of Prague, the allegorical meaning of the sculpture cannot be disregarded. Mercury Abducting Psyche personify two concepts: Art and Genius. The group thus signifies that Art raises Genius to immortality. Such is the sculptor's proud assertion of the value of his work. In this work, Adriaen de Vries appears to seek to push back the frontiers of sculpture and to surpass his master. He reworks Giambologna's bold distribution of weight in the gravity-defying Flying Mercury (a copy of which is in the Louvre), in which the messenger god's foot seems to be the only part of the statue still in contact with the ground. In de Vries's work, the drapery falling between the two bodies supports the group without affecting its lightness. The figures form a knot of bodies whose flowing, undulating lines spiral upward, giving an aerial feeling of elevation. The group invites the spectator to move around the statue and study it from its many different angles, none of which dominates, as in Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women (Florence, Loggia dei Lanzi). The svelte bodies, firm, smooth modeling, exaggerated elongation of the hands with slender fingers, the figures' graceful positions, and the energy in the movements are all characteristic of the mannerism spreading through Europe at the time, in Florence, Fontainebleau, and Prague. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.墨丘利（Mercury）驮载普绪喀（Psyche）升空，护送她前往奥林匹斯山。历经诸多艰险后，普绪喀获得永生，并与爱人丘比特（Cupid）重聚。阿德里安·德·弗里斯（Adriaen de Vries）的这件巨型青铜作品堪称技艺精湛的杰作，其大胆的重量分布与螺旋式动感营造出飞升的视觉效果，引导观者环绕雕塑进行观赏。 16世纪末17世纪初，德意志皇帝鲁道夫二世（Rudolf II，1552-1612）将都城布拉格打造为文化重镇，这里汇聚了包括第谷·布拉赫（Tycho Brahe）在内的天文学家、作家与艺术家。他从佛兰德斯招揽了众多风格主义艺术家，例如画家巴托洛梅乌斯·斯普兰格（Bartholomaeus Spranger，其作品《法律与审慎寓言》为卢浮宫（Louvre）馆藏）与雕塑家阿德里安·德·弗里斯。这位荷兰艺术家是乔瓦尼·博洛尼亚（Giambologna）在佛罗伦萨的得意门生，曾在布拉格打造两件巨型传世杰作：《诱拐普绪喀的墨丘利》与《被丘比特们驮载的普绪喀》（现藏于斯德哥尔摩）。 女神维纳斯（Venus）因嫉妒普绪喀的美貌，且恼怒自己的儿子丘比特与一介凡人结合，遂对这位年轻女子施加了一系列试炼，而普绪喀悉数克服。最终朱庇特（Jupiter）赐予普绪喀永生，维纳斯也选择原谅。信使神墨丘利将普绪喀带至奥林匹斯山，令其与爱人重逢。这一故事由拉丁作家阿普列尤斯（Apuleius，约公元125-170年）在《金驴记》（The Golden Ass）中记述。 墨丘利的标志性特征为带翼脚踝与翼状便帽（petasos）。与斯德哥尔摩的同主题组雕一致，普绪喀优雅地举起一只花瓶，暗指她需冒险前往冥界向珀耳塞福涅（Persephone）求取美容仙露的情节。 在布拉格的学术氛围中，这件雕塑的寓言内涵不容忽视。《诱拐普绪喀的墨丘利》具象化了“艺术”与“天赋”两大概念，整组作品寓意着艺术将天赋抬升至永生之境，这亦是雕塑家对自身创作价值的自豪宣言。 在这件作品中，阿德里安·德·弗里斯似乎意欲拓展雕塑的边界，超越其恩师乔瓦尼·博洛尼亚。他沿用了博洛尼亚标志性的大胆重量分布手法，创作了这件反重力的《飞腾的墨丘利》（卢浮宫藏有其复制品）——作品中信使神的足部仿佛是唯一与地面接触的部分。在德·弗里斯的创作中，垂于两具躯体之间的衣饰既支撑了整组造型，又未破坏其轻盈感。人物交织成结状的躯体以流畅起伏的线条向上螺旋延展，营造出升腾的空灵氛围。与乔瓦尼·博洛尼亚的《劫掠萨宾妇女》（现藏于佛罗伦萨兰齐廊）类似，这组雕塑也邀请观者环绕观赏，从多个视角进行品鉴，无单一视角可统摄全貌。纤细修长的躯体、坚实流畅的塑形、手指纤细修长的手部夸张延伸、优雅的姿态与充满动感的能量，皆是当时风靡欧洲（佛罗伦萨、枫丹白露与布拉格）的风格主义艺术的典型特征。 本件作品隶属于“扫描世界”（Scan The World）项目。“扫描世界”是由MyMiniFactory发起的非营利性倡议，旨在建立全球可3D打印的雕塑、艺术品与地标数字档案库，供公众免费获取。该项目为开源社区协作项目，若您身边有有趣的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解参与方式。