Mercury And Argus
Zeus was in a bit of a bind when his wife Hera caught wind of his affair with Io, so he transformed his lover into a white cow to hide her in plain sight. Hera wasn't fooled and assigned the hundred-eyed giant Argus—the rugged, bearded man sitting with his staff—to guard the beast. To save Io, Zeus sent the messenger god Mercury (the younger figure in the straw hat) to charm Argus to sleep with his flute, which lies discarded on the ground here. Jacob Jordaens brings this high-stakes mythological drama down to earth, painting the gods and monsters as robust, sweaty peasants in a lush Flemish landscape.
- Technique
- Oil painting
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