Mercury and Argus

The subject of Mercury and Argus is drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which describes how Jupiter transformed his lover, Io into a white heifer to protect her from the wrath of his jealous wife, Juno. Aware of Jupiter’s deception however, Juno orders the hundred-eyed Argus to watch over her rival. Jupiter in turn sends Mercury to liberate Io: disguised as a shepherd boy, the messenger of the gods is shown here in the moment before, having lulled Argus to sleep, he beheads the giant and frees Io. Karel van Mander interpreted this story as a moral lesson: lust weakens man’s ability to reason and undermines his sense of duty.

Jordaens returned to this story as a rich source for subjects for his paintings throughout his career, focusing on different moments of the drama: including Mercury reaching Argus (Christie’s, London, 2 April 1976, lot 62), Mercury playing the flute and putting Argus to Sleep (sale, Brussels, 2 June 1904, lot 110), Mercury drawing his sword (Lyons, Musée des Beaux-Arts) and Mercury killing Argus (Brussels, private collection).