Tornar-se uma deusa e um aristocrata: Psiquê e o barão de Nova Friburgo no Palácio do Catete

Built within the imperial court, the currently called Catete Palace served as the residence of the newly titled Baron of Nova Friburgo, who, due to his wealth derived from the trade of enslaved Africans, acquired lands for coffee plantations and was regarded as one of the wealthiest men during Brazil’s Second Empire. The palace’s decorative motifs refer to Classical antiquity, and this practice can be understood through the concept of “invented traditions,” as defined by Hobsbawm (1984: 9-23). Notably, the space dedicated to the main staircase, which provided access to the main floor where the rooms for the festive reception of the Baron’s guests were situated, features the myth of Cupid and Psyche as its primary motif. This paper aims to explore the construction of this decorative theme by articulating it with the literary narrative of the myth penned in The Golden Ass IV, 28 to VI, 24, by the Latin author Apuleius, as well as the Renaissance imagery of the loggia di Amore e Psiche of the Villa Farnesina in Rome. We propose that the Baron selected this theme to link his life trajectory as a prominent coffee farmer, through which he earned his noble title and established himself as an aristocrat in the imperial court, with the mortal Psyche’s apotheosis as a goddess on Mount Olympus.