Amor and Psyche

The subject of the print is a Greek myth which was rather popular in the fine arts. Psyche, the wife of the God Eros, resolved to see her husband’s face despite his ban. She thus took a lamp and visited him at night in order to take the very first look at him. The lamp, however, burst and the burning oil woke Eros up. The print is a masterpiece of Baroque graphic arts. Mellan managed to extraordinarily capture the source of light and the lit objects in contrast with the space immersed in the darkness of the night.