| Mercury and Argus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Peter Paul Rubens |
| Year | 1635-1638 |
| Medium | oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 63 cm × 87.5 cm (25 in × 34.4 in) |
| Location | Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany |
Mercury and Argus is an oil on panel painting by the Flemish artistPeter Paul Rubens. It was created between 1635 and 1638 and is now in the possession of theGemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany. Another work on the same theme and with the same title, painted on canvas by Rubens between 1636 and 1638, is in the collection of thePrado Museum, Madrid.[1]
This painting is part of the BBC's100 Great Paintings.
Both paintings depict a scene from a Greek myth narrated inOvid'sMetamorphoses (I, 583; IX, 687). In the story the godZeus falls in love withIo, a priestess of his wifeHera. When Hera discovers the affair Zeus transforms Io into a white heifer to protect her from Hera's wrath. Hera discovers the stratagem and demands the heifer as a present, putting it under the protection ofArgus Panoptes, the all-seeing one. Zeus sends his wily messengerMercury to kill Argus and recover the heifer, which Mercury does by lulling Argus to sleep with his pipe music before striking off his head.[2]
In the slightly earlier Dresden work (at right) Mercury is reaching for his sword before launching his attack on Argus, whilst in the Prado work the strike is taking place.
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