Flemish school, follower of Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640): Mercury plays Argus asleep, oil on canvas, ca. 1700

Work: 164 x 113 cm

Argus falls asleep next to a tree to the music Mercury makes with his shepherd's whistle. While playing the flute, Mercury grabs his sword to kill Argus. In this way, Io, Jupiter's lover turned into a white cow, could be freed.

Based on the prime version in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden - Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden , inv./cat.no. 962C (link).