The Festival of Psyche, with Mercury from a set of Mythological Subjects after Giulio Romano

Art Historical Context

Behold *The Festival of Psyche with Mercury*, a magnificent tapestry from the renowned Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins Paris, woven between 1689 and 1692 from designs created in 1684–86. Part of a grand set of *Mythological* inspired by the Renaissance master Giulio Romano, this piece vividly captures a lavish celebration featuring Psyche, Mercury, playful Cupid, nymphs, dogs, elephants, and overflowing fruits like grapes. Collaborators included Antoine Coypel, René Houasse, Jean-Baptisteneille, and Jean Lefebvre the Elder for the cartoons, with Jean Jans the Younger overseeing the weaving under the patronage of Louis XIV, the Sun King himself. Crafted from wool, silk, and shimmering metal threads on a high-warp loom (20–26 warps per inch), its monumental scale—12 feet by 18 feet 4 inches—made it ideal for adorning the opulent halls of Versailles or royal residences. Gobelins tapestries epitomized French Baroque luxury, blending Mannerist drama from Romano's originals with the refined elegance of Louis XIV's court, symbolizing power, mythology, and artistic supremacy. Today, this treasure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gifted by Julia A. Berwind in 1953, invites us to marvel at 17th-century craftsmanship, where every thread weaves a tale of divine revelry and royal ambition.