Ceres Refusing Any Assistance to Psyche

"Ceres Refusing Any Assistance to Psyche" is a sixteenth-century print attributed to the Master of the Die, an engraver active in Italy from approximately 1530 to 1560. This work, dating from the early years of the Die’s known activity (1530-1540), is an engraving executed in warm brown ink on cream laid paper. The composition translates an earlier design by the Flemish artist Michiel Coxcie I, who, in turn, drew inspiration from the classical and dramatic figure arrangements pioneered by the High Renaissance master Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael.

The scene illustrates a key episode from Apuleius’s The Golden Ass, wherein the suffering mortal Psyche seeks aid from the goddess Ceres during her trials imposed by Venus. The work captures the moment of refusal, emphasizing Psyche’s desperation and Ceres’s firm detachment.

The Master of the Die specialized in reproductive printmaking, skillfully transforming paintings and large-scale frescoes into highly detailed, small-format prints. Working within the vibrant artistic environment of Italy, the Die’s engravings served a crucial role in circulating the leading visual idioms of the Renaissance across Europe, ensuring the widespread influence of masters like Raphael long after their deaths. The careful delineation and classical modeling demonstrate the engraver’s technical skill in handling the reproductive medium.

This piece, which exemplifies the collaborative and distributive nature of early modern art production, resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As a masterwork of its era, prints such as this one are often available to researchers today through initiatives digitizing the public domain.