Mercury and Argus
- Catalog
- WD-009
- Artist
- Willem Drost
- Year
- c. 1659
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 118 × 153 cm
- Location
- Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
Description
A classical mythological scene depicting Mercury lulling Argus to sleep with his flute. This is one of Drost's few known mythological subjects.
Analysis
The pastoral landscape setting and mythological subject matter set this work apart from Drost's more typical biblical and portrait subjects. The reclining Argus and the cunning Mercury are arranged in a frieze-like composition across the foreground, with a luminous landscape extending into the distance.
Historical Context
Dated to Drost's final years (c. 1659), this large-scale mythological painting (118 × 153 cm) reflects the Italian influence on his late style — the pastoral landscape and classical subject matter recall Venetian Renaissance painting, particularly Titian and the Tenebrosi. It was painted at a time when Huygens was formulating his theory of centrifugal force (De Vi Centrifuga, 1659) and Rembrandt was completing his final masterpieces in Amsterdam. The work represents the culmination of Drost's Italian synthesis.