This finely detailed mythological scene narrates the story of Mercury and Herse, an episode from Ovid’s Metamorphoses in which the Greek god, identified by his winged feet, helmet and caduceus, spies three sisters returning from the festival of Minerva and falls in love with Herse, the most beautiful of the three. Herse's sister Aglauros will become envious of Mercury's infatuation with Herse and will attempt to intervene, a rash decision that ends with Mercury turning her to stone. Hoet has chosen to depict the moment at which Mercury, circling overhead, first catches sight of Herse, a graceful maiden in classical garb at the center of the composition.
Details
- Artist Name: Gerard Hoet (Dutch, 1648-1733)
- Title: Mercury and Herse
- Date: c. 1710
- Medium: Oil on copper
- Dimensions: 22-3/4 x 27-1/4 in. (57.8 x 69.2 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation, Gift of Mr. Norton Simon
- Accession Number: M.1979.51.P
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation
Object Information
Idestam Family, Reval.
Sesemann, St. Petersburg.
James Whittick-Kunau, Helsinki.
[Svensk-Engelska Konstgalleriet (Fredrik Dahlstrom), Stockholm, 1937].
Private Collection (sale, London, Sotheby's, 10 July 1974, lot 92, to);
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
[on loan]
- Henry Art Gallery, 1974-08-12 to 1974-12-09
Display in the Founder's Room, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
- Music Center, Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, 2017-02-08 to 2018-02-08
Telling Tales
- Norton Simon Museum, 2006-01-20 to 2006-04-17
- Sutton, Peter C., A Guide to Dutch Art in America, 1986, p. 219
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1069 p. 368
Image reproduction permission may be granted for scholarly or arts related commercial use. All image requests, regardless of their intended purpose, should be submitted via the reproduction request form.
Images may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. Additional permission may be required.
Approved requests for the reproduction of an image will receive a contract detailing all fees and conditions of use of the image. Upon receipt of both the signed contract and full payment, the Office of Rights and Reproductions will provide the image. A complimentary copy of the published material must be provided to the Norton Simon Museum.