Mercury, Herse and Aglauros

Sebastiano Ricci (studio of) 1659 - 1734

Summary

At the centre of this scene, with her breast exposed, is the beautiful Herse, returning from the festival of Athena. Above her, Cupid fires his arrow at the god Mercury. Mercury gestures towards his heart and to Herse, with whom he has fallen instantly in love. Herse is accompanied by her two sisters: Pandrosos, the kneeling figure, and Aglauros, in yellow. The dark look which Aglauros directs at Herse predicts the end of this story, which is taken from Ovid's Metamorphoses (2:708-834). Jealous of her beautiful sister, Aglauros prevents Mercury from seeing Herse. The god turns Aglauros into black stone - the colour of her thoughts. Despite its small dimensions, this is not an oil sketch, but a small finished picture, and probably studio work. Sebastiano Ricci was a widely travelled and versatile painter of religious, historical and mythological subjects. He was active in Venice, Bologna and Parma to c. 1690, Rome and Lombardy from 1691-15, England and France 1612-16, and in Venice from 1717 until his death.

Display Label

Mercury, Herse and Aglauros about 1720 - 34 School of Sebastiano Ricci 1659 - 1734 At the centre of this scene, with her breast exposed, is the beautiful Herse: above her is Cupid, who fires his arrow at the god Mercury. Mercury gestures towards his heart and to Herse, with whom he has fallen instantly in love. Herse is accompanied by her two sisters: Pandrosos, the kneeling figure, and Aglauros, in yellow. The dark look which Aglauros directs at Herse predicts the end of the story, which is taken from the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses - tales of transformations. Jealous of her beautiful sister, Aglauros prevents Mercury from seeing Herse. The god turns Aglauros into black stone – the colour of her thoughts. Gift of the Art Fund 1954.903