The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 27, 2024

Mercury and Argus in a Landscape

Mercury and Argus in a Landscape

c. 1635
(Dutch, 1669)
Framed: 62 x 79 x 7 cm (24 7/16 x 31 1/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 37 x 49.2 cm (14 9/16 x 19 3/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

This painting depicts a scene from ancient myth. The queen of the gods, Juno, jealous of her husband Jupiter's affair with Io, changed the mortal woman into a cow. Juno then ordered Argus - a giant with many eyes - to watch over Io constantly. In response, Zeus sent Mercury, the god of deception, to free Io. Mercury lulled Argus to sleep by playing the flute, then killed him and released the cow. The artist set the scene in a landscape with classical ruins. The expansive vista belongs to an earlier tradition that evokes the immenseness of the world through panoramic views, offering the suggestion of boundless space.
  • (Colnaghi, London, 1967).
    Severance and Greta Millikin, Cleveland, upon his death, by inheritance to Greta Millikin.
    Greta Millikin, upon her death, held in trust by the estate,
    Estate of Greta Millikin, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1989.
  • Chong, "European and American Paintings in the Cleveland Museum of Art," (CMA, 1993) repr. p. 135
    The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
    CMA, 1990: "The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection," no. 219.
  • {{cite web|title=Mercury and Argus in a Landscape|url=false|author=Dirck van der Lisse|year=c. 1635|access-date=27 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.248