Mercury and Herse
Thomas Blanchet, Mercury and Herse, 1650, oil on canvas, Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the Richard and Janet Geary Foundation, Inc., public domain, 2001.12
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Mercury and Herse
- Artist
- Date
1650
- Medium
oil on canvas
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
38 1/2 in x 52 1/4 in
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
French
- Credit Line
Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the Richard and Janet Geary Foundation, Inc.
- Accession Number
2001.12
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
This painting dates from Blanchet's years in Rome, where he had traveled to join the circle of Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665). Subscribing to Poussin's theory of elevating art, Blanchet turned to intellectual imagery inspired by classical antiquity. In this scene from Ovid's "Metamorphoses," Mercury flies over a festival honoring Pallas Athena. There he discovers and becomes enamored of Herse, one of the maidens "who bore to their goddess' temple mystic gifts in flower-wreathed baskets on their heads." Such painting won Blanchet an international clientele. In 1654 he was recruited by the city of Lyon to create paintings for the interiors of the new city hall. He became a member of the Royal Academy in Paris in 1681.
- Exhibitions
2003 The Triumph of French Painting: 17th Century Masterpieces from the Museums of FRAME Portland Art Museum; Birmingham Museum of Art; Meadows Museum
